A taste of
by Gembomz
Summary: Shawn, an undiscovered genius yet slightly off his rocker. Sent to live in a Mental Institution after being diagnosed at a very young age. Confined within the center, he yearns to strive for that taste of freedom.
1. Intro

**Welcome to yet another story!**

**NOT A CHAPTER BUT PLEASE READ**

**I had this idea a few days ago and I have been writing ever since. I have about 1500 words so far and I haven't even got to the part where he gets to the mental institution.**

**I thought I would just announce it now so people can FAVORITE or FOLLOW if they want to. But also so no one steals this idea... COS IT'S MINE! Haha. **

**Anyway... I won't be posting the first chapter for a while yet. I am trying to focus on writing it all first.**

**You can review letting me know whether you are interested and I will give you a sneek peak of the first chapter!**

**Here is the summary once again:**

**Shawn was a very strange child and the people who knew him knew that. What if Shawn's parents' divorce had a bigger impact that anyone thought setting of a chain of events that no one could have suspected. Shawn grows up in a mental institution.**

**So... let me know if you are interested in the story to gain the sneak peak!**

**See you soon!**

**Gembomz!**


	2. The problem

**Author noteL**

**I just decided to post the first chapter. I will warn that updates will be quite slow however you will be rewarded by long chapters and a fun time reading!**

**I had quite a few people expressing their interest and I thought I might as well post the first chapter so you actually have something to read. I sent a preview to a few people and then got bored of it, so sorry if you didn't get a preview... but you get the whole chapter instead!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Psych**

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Shawn curled up in bed and pulled the duvet up higher beneath his chin. Covering his ears with his hands, Shawn rocked himself gently trying to block out the noises coming from downstairs. His parents were shouting again, arguing, so loudly Shawn was sure all of the neighbours could hear them. Shawn was eight years old and he knew that parents weren't supposed to act like this. They had been fighting on and off for about two years now and Shawn hated. Sometimes he silently cried himself to sleep, other times he didn't sleep. Occasionally he ran to Gus' house. Shawn had met Gus when he was six years old and they had been best friends for two and a half years now and Gus' parents always let him stay. They guessed that Shawn's home life wasn't exactly perfect but figured that it would work its self out eventually. They knew that Henry Spencer was a cop and knew that no abuse would come to his own child but they kept a look out just in case. They had no reason to worry, Whenever Shawn was around Gus he was happy and that made them happy. Shawn knew that his parents didn't even notice when he wasn't there, it said something about his father's detective skills, didn't it. It took Shawn hours to get to sleep that night as his parents argued beneath him and unfortunately, he had to get up the next morning for school.

His alarm when off and Shawn rolled over and turned it off. Shawn couldn't hear any movement downstairs which was odd at this time of the morning. Usually his mother would make him breakfast and his father would be making loud noises trying to find his keys. Shawn smirked, he had hidden them last night too. Sill in his pyjamas he bounded down the stairs a few at a time, enjoying the thumping sound. Usually he would get told off for that but this time there was silence. As Shawn went in to the kitchen he realised that his dad had already gone to work. His key's had already been found and his police coat was off the hanger. That solved one mystery.

"Mum?" Shawn called out loudly. No answer.  
"Mum!" Shawn tried again but again there was no answer. _Maybe she is still asleep?_ Shawn thought as he bounded through to wake her by jumping on the bed. He landed on the bed but his mother wasn't there. After realising this Shawn looked around the room. He had never seen it in such a mess. Shawn's first thought was that his mum had been kidnapped but even his eight year old mind could figure it out. Her clothes were missing from the rails, her jewellery been taken, the picture that used to hang on the wall with the Spencer family on it. Shawn checked under the bed and found the suitcase missing. _She's gone? _ Shawn realised as he started crying. He curled up in his parent's bed and cried. He only stopped crying when he realised what the time was. He was going to be late for school. Knowing that Gus would kill him if he didn't turn up today Shawn put a speed on. He grabbed some clothes and put them on, he skipped breakfast by grabbing an apple and didn't stop to think what he would be eating for lunch. He didn't bring any of his school books as most of them were at school. It was just a matter of getting there, which was easy enough. Shawn caught the same bus every day to school; usually his dad would drop him off at the bus stop on his way to work. It wasn't a long journey to the bus stop but it was far enough that Shawn ran the whole way there to get there on time.

Shawn had forgotten his bus pass but Shawn gave him a big cute smile and begged him.  
"Fine young man. On you get. Next time, bring your bus pass or I can't give you a ride, ok? It's the rules" he explained and Shawn nodded beaming. He quickly found Gus with his head buried in a book.

"Hey Gus!" Shawn greeted him, plonking down in the next seat.

"Hey Shawn" Gus replied, "I'm reading about rockets"

"Like the ones that go up into space?" Shawn asked confused.

"uh huh. We get to watch them take off today remember!" Gus explained with excitement. The idea watching a rocket that could supposedly go into space was too exciting for the eight year olds to imagine.

Shawn didn't stop grinning the whole ride there. Shawn made it through most of his lessons that day without trouble. He was distracted by the rockets that he bounced up and down in excitement and fidgeted all day. Sitting still and learning English was slowly killing him. The teachers began to notice. By the end of the lesson Shawn had fallen asleep and Gus head to wake him.

"Shawn!" He whispered loudly as he glanced at Mrs Donnals who was at the front of the class with her arms folded. Never before had a student fallen asleep in one of her classes.

"Shawn!" Mrs Donnals said right by his ear making him jump.

Shawn looked up and instantly apologised, "Sorry Miss. I didn't sleep well last night"

Gus grimaced knowing what that meant instantly, his parents had been fighting again, Mrs Donnals was unaware and instructed Shawn and Gus to get their lunch boxes out and start eating. Gus began to grab his lunchbox and he looked at Shawn with confusion, he didn't have any bags on him.

"Shawn, where's your lunch?" Gus asked, pulling out his own lunchbox before examing the contents and punching the air. He had a chocolate bar.

"I haven't got any" Shawn told him quickly, trying to ignore his English teacher's gaze. Luckily for him, she didn't question why. She was about to offer when Gus spoke out.

"S'alright Shawn. You can share mine" Gus told him and Shawn grinned happily and immediately reached for the chocolate bar. She would definitely keep an eye on him. Gus wacked his hand away as Shawn moved the tables next to each other.

"Mine" he growled, and Shawn just laughed.

After lunch it was time for the rocket experiments. All of the teachers and students gathered on the field. Due to the age of most of the students, after all it was a primary school; no one was actually aloud to go near the rockets. It was just meant as a fun scientific experiment aimed to get the children more interested about science. They did the same things for English by having reading competitions, after you finished a book you received a gold star and the person with the most gold stars at the end of the year got a prize. Gus had won twice now. Shawn had a total of zero stars, refusing point blank to read a book he didn't have to. Needless to say these fun experiments didn't always work but Shawn was very excited about this one. He stayed behind the line with Gus that the teachers had taped and was jumping in excitement. Shawn noticed the eyes of Mrs Donnals, his English teacher watching him once more and ignored her.

"I'm so excited!" Gus squealed, not blinking as to not miss a single second.

Shawn would have replied me too but Shawn wasn't paying attention to him anymore. Shawn was just staring at the rocket, remembering a time when his parents had time for him and his father actually played with him three years ago when he had just met Gus. Before they started fighting his Dad would spend time with him. Shawn had a good memory and had no trouble getting absorbed in the memory that made Gus instantly worry, prod him and call a teacher over.

_"Gentlemen, we are about to embark on the Junior Bobcat Manual's infamous Exercise Number 32, the launching of a solid fuel rocket. Now, one of you lucky grunts is gonna nab this thing, and you're gonna haul ass back to me. The prize? A hot fudge sundae, but if you lose? What does the loser get, Shawn?"_

_"He gets to look on with envy" Shawn replied, hoping it was right.  
" That is correct. He gets to look on with envy, because that, gentlemen, is the American way. On your marks." He started, positioning the rocket.  
Shawn and Gus got ready and prepared themselves. Looking into each other's eyes before ahead of them like a race.  
"Ready. Set. GO!" Henry announced as he pushed the button and smiled as the two boys ran off in to the distance to find the rocket, before spotting the fence they should have gone through and ran to retrieve the rocket.  
Shawn chases Gus into the forest and sees him making out with something. He immediately gives chase but as Gus hands it to Henry, Shawn realises his mistake._

_"What's this?" Henry asked Gus with a raised eyebrow and Shawn smirked before starting laughing._

_"A parachute" Gus replied clueless._

_"You were meant to retrieve the rocket. Where is my rocket" Henry asked and Shawn narrowed his eyes on him._

_"It's behind your back, you CHEATER" Shawn shouted and Henry looked genuinely shocked for a moment, wondering how he knew but before he could ponder the question Gus said,_

_"You took a shortcut" in wonder._

_"Prove it" Henry smirked and Shawn just glared at his father which Henry wouldn't lie, it was starting to make him a little uncomfortable._

_"I beat you this time, I am eating the Sundae. Ready. Set. Go." His father shouted. Gus ran off to get the rocket and Shawn just stared at his father for a few moments more before turning away and walking in the opposite direction towards the car. Refusing to play his game._

Shawn blinked and started crying, unaware that the rocket's had been delayed temporarily to handle Shawn who had seemingly zoned out. The teachers were containing the other children and directing some of the lower years back to the class rooms. Shawn's mind raced. He knew his mother had left; his father hadn't been around for him in years. All Shawn wanted was approval from his father but his freakiness freaked him out and that memory, a time when they all got a long made Shawn so sad to be reminded of what he could never have. Shawn cried some more and Mrs Donnals carried him to the nurse's room. Gus tried to follow but she stopped him. Shawn stayed catatonic for about twenty minutes, tears running down his cheeks but when he snapped out of it, he was instantly embraced by Miss Pomme, the school nurse who gave him a big hug and stroked his hair soothingly.

"What happened?" he asked and she held him with concern.

"Don't you remember?" she asked soothingly and Shawn shook his head.

"Oh wait, I remember. My Dad was setting of the rocket!" he remembered excitedly and Miss Pomme tensed with dread.

"He was cheating though cos he ran through the gate instead of into the forest like me. Though I lost cos I'm a loser and I have to look on with envy" Shawn remembered, trying to get his father's words engrained into his brain. Perhaps if he kept saying it, it would sink in.

"Look on with envy, look on with envy, look on with envy, look on with envy…"

Miss Pomme was now officially worried. She was sure he had gotten a hallucination and now he was sat there saying the same words over and over again.

"Shawn?" she asked gently, wondering how she was going to get an eight year old to say this.

"Yes Miss Pomme" he replied, looking up at her through his tears.

"I'm gonna make a tiny little prick on your arm, ok? And if you're brave, I'll give you a lolly pop"

Shawn instantly brightened. He wasn't bothered about prick on his arm; **anything** was worth a lolly pop. Shawn saw the needle and Miss Pomme noticed how he wasn't scared at all, instead he was grinning at her that only made her more uncomfortable. The prick was over quickly and Shawn didn't even flinch, his eyes looked into hers. Shawn noticed that she looked worried instantly thought something might be wrong.

"Is something wrong? Have you not got any lolly pops left? Cos you promised" Shawn whined and Miss Pomme forced herself to smile.

"Of course Shawn" she replied softly walking over to her desk and retrieving a lollypop before handing it to him. Shawn grabbed it without saying thank you.

Miss Pomme hoped it was drugs. She really did. It was a nice easy explanation as to why he would hallucinate and drop down crying. Depending on what drug, it would also explain why he didn't feel any pain when she took a blood sample. Every eight year old should be afraid of a needle.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door

"Enter" Miss Pomme called.

It was Mrs Donnals who walked through the door and once again looked at Shawn.

"How are you doing?" she asked concerned. Shawn just sucked his lollypop and turned his head away, completely ignoring her.

She turned towards the nurse who just shrugged.

"It's been decided that Shawn can go home now" she informed Miss Pomme. "I volunteered to give him a lift"

Miss Pomme nodded in a professional manner and explained to Shawn. "Mrs Donnals is gonna take you home now, ok?"

Shawn just nodded and followed Mrs Donnals out the door as she whispered a silent thank you. Miss Pomme got the blood sample straight to the labs and awaited the result.

Shawn followed her to her car and got in. She had already looked at the records to find out where Shawn lived and had the address memorized. They drove in silence until she decided to try making conversation.

"So how come you didn't have any lunch today hun?" she questioned and Shawn didn't look at her but replied with a single word, "forgot"

Mrs Donnals nodded.

"So are you feeling better after what happened?" she asked again, concerned. Shawn just shrugged as she pulled up outside his house.

"I just can't believe you let my Dad in!" he expressed his disbelief and she frowned confused but then was distracted by Shawn letting himself out of the car. She quickly joined him and walked up to the front door and knocked politely. Shawn shook his head in amusement and reached under the plant pot to get the key. He then opened the door and let himself in. Mrs Donnals followed him in briefly.

"Mr Spencer?" She called out. When no response came she assumed they were home alone and the mess of the house unsettled her but she cleverly kept her mouth shut.

"Do you know your parents numbers?" she asked holding her mobile.

Shawn shook his head and she sighed, expecting that.

"Dad works for the police, just ring 999" he said blandly.

Shawn made himself comfortable, well sort of. He was staring at the blank TV screen like he sometimes did. Remembering one of the episodes that had been on the previous week without realising. After Mrs Donnals finished the phone call to alert Henry she found him laughing at the Tv.

"What's so funny?" she smiled, trying not to let her anxiety show.

"SpongeBob square pants" Shawn laughed pointing at the blank screen, laughing. "He just…. Punched that green guy in the nose"

Mrs Donnals was now scared. A rumbling of the keys alerted to her that Henry was now home and she raced to the front door.

"How did you get in?" He asked rudely.

"Shawn let me in." she explained.

"Where is he?" Henry asked, dumping his bad by the door.

"He's in the lounge hallucinating at the TV screen" she whispered, a little scared.

"What?" Henry paused, shocked.

"He's watching a blank screen" she whispered back again and Henry just had to look for himself.

Shawn didn't even notice that his father was watching him. He was too busy engaging with the program to notice. It broke Henry's heart to notice his son's behaviour and wondered how long it had been going on.

"Thank you. I'll handle it from here" Henry announced quietly.

"The school has announced for a psychiatrist to come and evaluate Shawn this afternoon, just to observe him." Mrs Donnals explained and Henry looked at her in shock. Not anger, shock. Not that her statement surprised him much.

"I know it is terribly inconvenient but we are really troubled by his behaviour. We sent a sample of blood off to the lab so if t is drugs, we'll know"

Henry looked at her shocked. "It's not drugs, I would know" he explained, which only meant the worse option that his kid had some kind of mental condition. Henry knew that if there was drugs in his house, he would know about them.

Mrs Donnals left and Henry moved his work from by the door into the lounge into the same room as Shawn so that he could keep an eye in him. However an hour or so passed and Shawn didn't move as another episode "played". Henry focused on his paper work that he would have been doing at the station so he didn't have to think about the loss of his wife or the current actions of his son, he involved himself in his work until something happened.

The doorbell rang again only too soon and Shawn didn't jump. Henry sighed and stood up announcing that he would get it as he walked to the door.

"Hi, I'm Miss Jones. I am here to observe your son. I am a counsellor at West Haven Psychiatric Centre" she greeted him. Henry frowned and let her in.

"He's in the lounge…I think he's hallucinating at the television screen. Has been for the past few hours" Henry explained being truthful and immediately her curiosity was piqued. She followed Henry through to the lounge and Shawn didn't even notice her coming in. She joined Henry over by the table where his paper work was all set out.

"Can I ask you a few questions first?" she asked politely and Henry looked up from his pile of papers.

"Sure" he responded, only half paying attention.

"What does Shawn's mother do for a living? I assume she's not a stay at home mum as she isn't here"

"She's a psychiatrist" Henry replied without thinking, "Though she left us yesterday. We've been fighting for the past couple of years and she left me last night" he ended sadly, struggling to get the words out and she jotted down some notes.

"That might explain why he fell asleep in English class today" she remarked and Henry looked up in shock. He hadn't realise that Shawn could hear there fights. When fighting with his wife, he completely forgot about Shawn. It was easy to forget about Shawn as between his work and his wife. He didn't have time for much anymore.

"Are you getting a divorce?" she asked delicately. Henry let out a hallow laugh,

"She set out for one. I'll probably get the papers soon" Henry choked.

"What does Shawn usually do in the evenings?"

Henry was glad for the change of subject. "Um… he likes to watch TV"

She noticed his lack of answer.

"I don't usually get in till very late. As you can see, I still have loads of paperwork to do. I am a cop with SBPD. I was promoted two years ago and with the promotion came a lot of extra paper work."

She looked at the mountain of papers and smiled grimly.

"Can't be fun" she remarked.

"No, but it keeps me distracted" he announced before grabbing another paper. "You wanna talk to Shawn?"

She put down her notepad and nodded, "Thank you"

Henry only bowed his head in reply.

Shawn had stayed on the sofa for the entire conversation, still watching the TV. Rarely staying still, every couple of seconds he itched his arm, scratched his head, changed his position on the sofa, leant forwards, laughed, murmured things to himself. Miss Jones found him fascinating to watch.

"Shawn?" she asked quietly but Shawn didn't respond to her, still staring unblinkingly at the blank television screen.  
Instead she tried gently rocking his shoulder which usually worked on other of her patients. It was a success and Shawn instinctively snapped out of it.

"Hey!" he complained and Henry turned round to see what was happening. She withdrew her hand. "Why did you turn the telly off?"

Henry grimaced; there was something wrong with his kid. How long and this been going on without him noticing? When Shawn was younger Henry used to do all sorts of things with him. They used to go camping, catch fish and play games in the garden. It was then Henry realised that ever since his promotion he had forgotten about his son. His only son. He left before he went to school and arrived home after he had gone to bed. Henry also worked extra hours at the weekend. How was Henry going to cope on his own?

"Hi Shawn. I am Miss Jones" she introduced herself. Shawn looked at her flatly.

"I was watching that" he stated bluntly.

"Shawn!" Henry called over and Shawn turned slowly, not jumping at the sound of Henry's raised voice.

Shawn looked at him and he said "Be nice"

Shawn sighed, "Yeah I know. Your friends with Miss Pomme from school right? The table in her office told me" Shawn meant that her notebook was on the table when she was getting the needle and Shawn happened to see her name written down.

She blinked. "Oh I see". The table could talk to him? Interesting.

"Then I got a lolly pop" Shawn grinned suddenly.

She smiled, "Do you like lolly pops?"

Shawn was instantly friendlier with the woman. "I love lolly pops! Miss pomme gave me an apple flavoured one which is cool cos Pomme means apple in French" Shawn boasted, showing off his French knowledge to her and she acted like she was impressed.

"Very impressive Shawn" she smiled and Shawn beamed. "Can you tell me what happened this morning?"

Shawn nodded eagerly, still happy from the mention of lolly pops meaning his sad tale was said in a jolly way that would have freaked any sane person out.

"Well I came downstairs and mummy had packed and left for good so I went to find dad but he had already gone to work. I put my clothes on, grabbed an apple and ran to the bus stop. I forgot my bus pass" Shawn admitted whispering in case his father heard he had travelled on public transport without showing his ticket.

"But he let me on anyway!" Shawn giggled.

"Must have been a very kind bus driver" She remarked and smiled at him. Shawn frowned as he remembered what the guy looked like, what was in the trash can and the hidden cabinet.

"Actually I am pretty sure he is a rapist" Shawn shrugged, "and that makes him a not very nice guy!"

Miss Jones frowned slightly. "How do you know what a rapist is, Shawn?" she asked quietly so Henry weren't to hear her.

"Dad brings home cases all the time. He leaves them open on the table and I get to read them." He explained and she was shocked.

"Some of the stuff they do is so fascinating!" Shawn gushed, rolling off into the land of make believe. "You ever hear of the case my dad worked on where he stuffed a dead body in the freezer and froze it? I wondered what would happen if you put a live one in the freezer so I tried it with my pet rabbit. It was soo cool!" Shawn remembered and Henry was staring with disbelief on his face while Miss Jones just looked at him calmly.

"He died in the end though." Shawn recalled sadly. "So I burnt him in the oven so he could rot in hell"

Henry gasped aloud and Miss Jones' eyes widened.

"I see." She paused, "You can watch TV again now Shawn" Shawn smiled and then realised the remote was by the TV. Miss Jones smiled sadly realising that she was correct in her suspicions. After having broken him out of his hallucination, he snapped back to reality and when told to watch TV had to find the remote first. That was a good thing that would help Shawn recover… with extensive therapy and medicated drugs of course.

"Mr Spencer" she called over and Henry came over a bit dazed.

"I really think Shawn should go to West Haven Psychiatric Centre. He will be safe and we will try different combinations of drugs to try and stop his hallucinations and morbid thoughts." She paused, "I really do think this would be best for Shawn. You are too busy a person to look after Shawn properly and he will really benefit from full time care"

"I don't know… I don't wanna…" Henry stuttered. He wanted the best for his son but did he have to send him away?  
"Here's my card" she said, handing him her business card. "Take your time to decide" she assured him and she let herself out.

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**So... can you guess what Henry will decide? Does Henry have a heart? Let me know in your reviews! **

**REVIEW!**

**will update again in probably about a week. I will try. Depends how much time i get this weekend! Reviews will always speed the process up though!**


	3. Ramifications

**Author note: Hey guys! I wasn't expecting to update this so soon. But I was bored so...**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter! let me know what you think**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Psych.**

**Honestly if I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction because it would be owner fiction. Think about it!**

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Henry re-entered the lounge and was pleased to find Shawn actually watching the television. Henry put the business card in his pocket and memorised the digits before trying to concentrate on the rest of his paper work. Henry glanced at the clock and was surprised to find it had gone ten. Shawn's bedtime was eight-o'clock and Henry went over to shoo him off to find that he was already asleep.

Henry smiled and switched the telly off before beginning the task of carrying Shawn up the stairs. It surprised Henry how light his son was and that was when Henry realised. Maddy didn't even cook an evening meal that day. She tended to starve herself in the evenings anyway and Henry usually got something at work. What did Shawn eat? Henry groaned. He was a terrible father. Maybe it was better for his kid to go to West Haven after all. Henry laid him in bed and pulled the duvet covers up. Henry made sure that he had clean clothes for the morning and went downstairs to finish his paperwork. It was gone 11 when he finished and immediately marched up to bed.

.

...

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Henry was up early the next morning and got ready for another day at work. He grabbed an apple for breakfast as he quickly realised that it was always his wife that did the shopping. He grabbed all of his papers and put his coat on and found his keys where he left them. That was strange. Normally Shawn… Shawn! Remembering his son still sleeping. Henry dropped his things and left a note for his son, knowing his son would find it. _He got to school fine yesterday _Henry reminded himself. _It's not as if I can drop him off to school five hours early_ Henry reasoned as he grabbed his stuff and headed to the station. He began to sort out his desk and organise all of the paperwork he had completed the previous night. Realising that he needed the other members of the case needed to sign them to confirm what happened, he went and found Karen Vick who had worked on the case with him and was one of the best detectives that Henry had ever worked with.

"Karen" Henry greeted dumping the files on her desk.

"Good to see you too Henry" he said sarcastically. "Is this from the burglary case"

Henry nodded before taking a seat next to her. Henry watched as Karen flicked through the reports and Henry got caught up in his current situation. _I wonder If Shawn has woken up yet? Oh God! Does he even have an alarm clock for school?_

"Henry?" Karen asked waving one of the reports in his face.

"What? Yeah?" Henry snapped out of it.

"We can't submit these! You've changed cases mid-way, some of the sentences don't make sense and neither do some of the words"

Henry looked surprised but he soon realised what must have happened.

"Sorry" he apologised. "I'll do them all again" he promised but Karen shot out an arm and said "Wait"

"What happened last night? You never mess up paperwork" she looked genuinely concerned and Henry started spilling the beans.

"I'm a terrible father. I haven't spoken to my son since I got promoted or my wife… soon to be ex-wife. She left me yesterday. And that phone call yesterday was from Shawn's school alerting me that he broke down, has been hallucinating. The school sent a Doctor to visit last night to talk to Shawn and assess him where Shawn revealed he had been reading my case files and trying them out! He put his pet rabbit in the freezer to see if it killed him and when it did, he put it in the oven so it could rot in hell" Henry sobbed.

Karen realised he wasn't joking and instantly sent him through to the Chief's office to explain his circumstances. Henry was more than happy to spill his guts to the Chief and soon it was round the whole station. Everyone at the station admired Henry and when they saw him acting troubled and broken, everyone instantly wanted to help and was worried for their friend. Later on Henry was with Karen and his partner Tom.

"Maybe I should sent him to West Haven after all" Henry said glumly.

"Perhaps if we do extra paper work and work together. You can order food from Tesco using the computer in the Chief's office, get it delivered during the day." Karen started thinking; it would be devastating if Henry lost both his wife and his son.

"Yeah buddy. You can get a therapist to see him in the evenings can't you? They can feed him until you get back"

"Your right" Henry sniffed. "I can make this work"

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..

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...

...

Shawn woke up that morning and looked at the clock. It was strangely silent in the house.

_"No one's home remember? It's just you and me." _Shawn nodded, at the sound of his friend's Ross' voice. It was Shawn's second best friend Ross who was stood beside him and he pointed at Shawn's buss pass. Remembering to grab his bus pass this time, he got changed and headed downstairs. He paused to peek into his parent's bedroom before remembering they wouldn't be there. Shawn noticed the note almost immediately when he reached the kitchen.

_Pineapple in fridge I think. Have a good day at school. BUS PASS. Dad_

Shawn smiled. He couldn't believe it. For the first time in two years, his dad had remembered to leave him a note. Shawn found the pineapple in the fridge and stared at the fruit for a while before grabbing his school bag and putting the pineapple in it. Shawn then rummaged through the bread bin and found the bread.

He stared at the bread in amazement. Parts of the bread were blue and some patched were fuzzy. Shawn touched it and found it to be squidgy to the touch. His mum had often bought different types of bread. Sometimes the bread was white, sometimes it was brown, and sometimes it had lumps (seeds) in it, so why couldn't it be blue.

_"You shouldn't eat that Shawn" _Ross told him. Never in his life had he seen furry bread. Shawn usually listened to Ross and he argued the fact that he had only eaten an apple yesterday and part of Gus' lunch. Henry had forgotten about an evening meal completely. Although Shawn did get a lolly pop. He put a piece in the toaster and got a bit frightened when the blue expanded.

_"Told you shouldn't eat it. Your Dad's trying to kill you, you know. You would have died if you had eaten it." _Ross told him. Deciding he wasn't hungry yet, Shawn saved the toast and put it in his school bag. Deliberately packing it to spite Ross but he couldn't help thinking that. Ross just sighed when Shawn put the bread in his bag although he knew that he would never eat it anyway.

Shawn raced down to the bus stop and arrived in plenty of time. When the bus pulled up Shawn got out his bus pass and proudly showed it to the bus driver.

"Well done kid" he smiled and Shawn grinned back. As Shawn walked to where Gus was sitting the bus didn't erupt in whispers like you would expect. People just stared at him, perhaps a little scared.

"Shawn!" Gus shouted and Shawn instantly spotted his friend and sat down beside him.

"You really scared me yesterday" Gus moaned.

"Sorry buddy. My mind was somewhere else" Shawn explained. He noticed that Gus was upset and so revealed to Gus what really happened yesterday.

"Gus…. My mum left yesterday" Gus instantly understood.

"Forever? You sleep better now?" Shawn smiled briefly before shaking his head. Gus sighed.

The bus stopped and everyone got off. The bell rung signalling it was time to go to lesson and Shawn's first lesson was art.

Art was boring, all Shawn wanted to do was paint but the teacher was going on about the difference between primary and secondary colours which bored Shawn and Ross was delighting himself in not talking. Needless to say he reached for the paint. The green paint. It went unnoticed by the teacher until his class started laughing. He turned him round and Shawn was sat in his seat, quietly and looking all innocent with a bright green painted face. Mr Tary's face went red with anger as he ordered Shawn out of the class room.

"He's like the incredible hulk" Shawn heard someone say as he walked calmly out of the class room. Shawn smirked at the comment. He hadn't actually been thinking of the Incredible Hulk. He was thinking about the rocket launch yesterday.

_The loser gets to look on with envy _Shawn remembered. You go red with anger, blue with cold and green with envy. He really was a loser now.

He was walked to the nurse's office as Miss Pomme was the only one who had special facial wipes. She blinked in surprise when Shawn walked through the door. It wasn't his green face that disturbed her more, it was his presence. Miss Jones had rung her after she met with him and she had divulged everything that had happened. Miss Pomme had a duty to let all members of staff know so they can protect the children if he snaps. Miss Pomme smiled gently,

"My dear boy! What have you done to your face" she asked smiling.

Shawn gave a weak smile back, "I painted my face green! Now I am envy looking!" Shawn announced. "Can I have a lolly?"

Miss Pomme laughed, "Of course you can". She grabbed a lolly from her desk and gave it to Shawn before asking a rather series question.

"Why did you paint your face green Shawn?" she asked. Shawn was more than happy to answer, he had a lolly pop now!

"Cos a loser gets to look on with envy, remember?" Shawn replied, thinking for a moment that she was quite dum not to remember a conversation they only had yesterday.

"I see" she replied, she was going to make a note of that. "Well are you going to let me turn your face normal again?" she asked.

Shawn frowned, he liked his green skin. He was unique. He had just been given a lolly though and his skin was beginning to itch.

"Ok" he agreed and she smiled before revealing some special wipes.

_"Is she gonna wipe your face like a baby?" _Ross asked, he stood beside Shawn. Shawn tightened his lips.

"I'm not a baby" he responded and Miss Pomme looked intruiged.

"I never said you were" she responded thoughtfully.

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Ross" Shawn responded before grabbing the wipe from her hands and beginning to clean his own face. He took the wipe up to his face before he realised the smell.

"They smell weird" Shawn complained. The nurse was quick to agree but she paused and sniffed the wipe. The smell wasn't coming from the wipes.

"What is that smell?" she wondered as she followed her nose to Shawn's bag. She delved into the front zipped pocket and revealed the piece of toast that Shawn had saved earlier.

"Oh God!" she gasped before rushing over and putting it in the bin and closing the lid shut tight.

"What was that for? That's my lunch" Shawn admitted glumly.

"Shawn… when bread is blue and fluffy it makes you very ill, do you understand?" she checked. Shawn looked at her confused.

"But it was squidgy" Shawn complained.

"If you eat blue bread it makes you very poorly and I know these things because I am a nurse" she explained. Shawn sucked on his lolly and nodded.

"I was gonna have it for breakfast but it got bigger when I put it in the toaster. Ross told me it would kill me but I didn't believe him as I don't want my daddy to want to kill me" Shawn explained with fascination. Miss Pomme grimaced. Who was this Ross person? Was he here, imaginary? She had just touched probably the most disgusting thing ever and all she wanted to do was wash her hands. How could Henry leave something like that out? She did the next best thing and used one of the wipes on her hands and spraying some air freshener before she continued to wipe of the green paint on his face, thinking all the while of Shawn's imaginary friend.

"My face hurts" Shawn whined as he scratched with his hand.

"I know sweetie. That's why we're not meant to paint our faces green" she explained as she got the last traces of the paint off. "There all done" she smiled.

Shawn stood up and grinned at her and jumped suddenly when the bell rang signalling next class.

"You better go to English young man" she told him and Shawn instantly obeyed.

"Thanks for not making my face green no more" he called as he ran out of the room. Miss Pomme knew she was meant to escort him to lesson and so quickly gave chase and knocked before opening the door to the English room and letting Shawn inside. The class had started two minutes ago and Mrs Donnals was half way through the register.

Shawn found his seat next to Gus in silence and waved as Miss Pomme left them. She smiled and waved back as she walked away. Shawn liked Miss Pomme. He had been a regular visitor to the nurse's office. He got to go at least once a week and every time, he got a lolly pop. He still was sucking on it in English and Mrs Donnals noticed.

"Shawn, could you put the lolly in the bin please. No eating until lunch time" Mrs Donnals instructed nicely. Shawn rebelled almost straight away, quick to defend his lolly pop.

"Miss Pomme gave me this lolly pop! And said I was allowed to eat it!" Shawn complained. Mrs Donnals thought about forcing him to but he seemed very protective of his lolly pop.

"Fine. But next time no eating in class" she told him and some of the other class mates groaned whispering about the unfairness. Shawn just smirked pleased. The English lesson passed quickly because Shawn wasn't really paying attention. He kept thinking over and over about what his father had done. His father had left a note, he hadn't spoken to his father in ages and he had actually reached out. Maybe his father did care about him. But then again, if Miss Pomme hadn't said anything he would have eaten that mouldy bread and been very ill. The thought of food made his stomach rumble and Shawn was very happy for lunch time. Everyone took out their lunchboxes and Shawn saw Mrs Donnals narrowing her eyes on Shawn making sure he had something to eat. Shawn reached into his bag and pulled out a huge pineapple.

"What is that?" Gus asked in amazement. Never before had he seen such a spikey and yellow food.

"My dad called it a pineapple! He left me a note this morning" Shawn retold with excitement and Mrs Donnals over heard and felt like slamming her head into the wall.

Shawn began to try and eat it by gnawing at the skin. "Oh" Shawn shouted in shock. A spikey thing had hurt his lip.

_"Maybe you have to cut the green things off?" _Ross suggested and Shawn looked at him and replied.

"Ross, how would I do that? I don't have a knife"

Mrs Donnals came over a little shocked. She didn't have a child in her class called Ross and Shawn seemed to be speaking to someone that wasn't there. Also the context of their conversation didn't seem to be too healthy either. Was Ross telling him to kill someone? Was that why he needed a knife? A little concerned, she walked over slowly to help and seeing him having trouble with a pineapple offered to help.

"Shawn?"

"Yes, Mrs Donnals" he replied holding his pineapple proudly.

"Would you like some help with that?" she asked and Shawn eagerly nodded shoving it at her.

"I'll be back in a moment then" she told him as she took it to the front of the room and then out of the door.

Mrs Donnals knew that she couldn't leave her class alone but she needed to inform Miss Pomme of Shawn's lunch. It seemed as if Henry Spencer wasn't doing well with coping with his divorce. Luckily a young girl on work experience was in her view filling up water bottles for the children in the lower years.

"Excuse me!" she called and she came racing over.

"yes?"

"Keep an eye on my class please during their lunch period? Just until I get back, I won't be five minutes" she explained and the young girl nodded.

"Of course" she responded and Mrs Donnals raced off. The girl hesitantly entered the room and sat down at the front desk with nerves. Luckily all the children were too busy eating to notice. Shawn did of course, but he was waiting, eyes on the door for Mrs Donnals to get back with his pineapple.

Mrs Donnals walked briskly to Miss Pomme's office and she held up the pineapple.

"What is it?" she asked and Mrs Donnals placed it on her desk.

"This is Shawn's lunch. He was trying to bite in to the side, trying to figure out how to get it open" she explained and Miss Pomme said, "Oh".

"I really think we should let Shawn's mother know" she stated.

Miss Pomme blinked. "It might be a bit inappropriate. They are going through a divorce"

Mrs Donnals looked at her with saddened eyed. "Yesterday he wasn't fed lunch and today he turns up with a pineapple. He looks thinner by the day. Also he was talking to an imaginary boy called Ross and Shawn's reply was _how would I do that? I don't have a knife!_" she said exasperated.

"He didn't have breakfast either? I rescued a mouldy piece of bread from his bag when I smelt it. He was talking to Ross earlier too." Miss Pomme realised. "You're right, I will call her"

Mrs Donnals nodded before saying thank you and heading towards the teachers' lounge. She greeted the other teachers and grabbed a knife and began to chop the pineapple up into slices. She also took two slices of bread with her for Shawn to munch on. God knew how much he needed it.

Mrs Donnals hurried back to the class room and thanked the girl who was supervising them.

"Thankyou so much" she said and the girl nodded smiling,

"It was no trouble"

Mrs Donnals could see Shawn's eyes lighting up and she handed him the pineapple in a bowl.

"This is what pineapple looks like without the scary shell" she explained before handing Shawn the two slices of bread "And this bread is healthy and not blue" she added with a smile.

Shawn beamed back at her. "Thanks Miss"

Shawn prodded his pineapple for a while before testing it and tentively putting a piece in his mouth.

"This is sooo yummy Gus! Try it" Shawn urged and Gus ate the smallest piece he could before regretting that action as he reached for more and Shawn smacked his hand away.

"Mine" he grumbled.

Shawn munched on the bread and managed to eat all of it, he ate all of the pineapple too to Miss Donnals surprise. She had cut up the whole pineapple thinking that Shawn could eat as much as he wanted; she thought Shawn would leave some but, obviously not. It just showed how hungry Shawn was.

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**Author note: So tell me. Honestly, who thought Henry was just gonna ship Shawn of there. No! He's gonna try and make it work cos he is a good father. Well not really but he realized his mistake, didn't he?  
Anyone put moldy bread in the toaster? DON'T. It's disgusting!**

**And if anyone didn't get it, Ross is Shawn's imaginary friend that he has had for years. Ross kephim company when he was ignored.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Confession

**Author note: Hey guys! I wasn't going to update so soon but hey, you can't stop inspiration when it hits can you? Anyway, this is an extra long chapter because it shows how awesome I am! **

**So this chapter reveals how Shawn is sent to the institution. Does Henry really send him away? Find out! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Psych**

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Henry didn't really eat a lot that day for lunch either. He had already called a take-away pizza for tonight. He paid online using his credit card meaning the pizza would arrive when Shawn got home from school and Shawn wouldn't have to pay him. Henry knew that he couldn't get take-out every night, but it would do for today.

Today however, turned out to be a really bad day. Maddy hadn't wasted anytime getting things done and she had sent the divorce papers over to Henry. Henry was clueless as to how she got them here so fast; she must have been planning to leave for a while now and timed it so she didn't have to be there when the papers arrived. Everyone at the station was really supportive and Henry signed the papers quite quickly. He had known for ages that their marriage wasn't working and Henry actually felt a little glad that she was out of his life.

"So how is it decided who gets custody of Shawn?" Tom asked and Karen looked puzzled.

"Depends completely on what the office says. Robert Dunly is in charge I think. He's a fair man. Maddy always said she wanted to see the world and travel. I doubt taking Shawn with her everywhere would work and she always thought Shawn was a freak. I never believed her. But….now I know what she means" he answered.

"Huh?" Karen asked confused once more.

"He's not a freak, he's my son. He's just a bit… damaged" Henry hesitantly explained and they understood what he meant instantly.

"I see. Well, hopefully they should rule in your favor then" Tom said crossing his fingers.

"Yeah" Henry agreed.

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The rest of the day passed without incident and when Shawn finally got home, he felt exhausted. He was really hungry already and after raiding the fridge he couldn't find anything edible.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Shawn didn't know what to do. He had never answered the front door before. He was always told never answer the door to a stranger. Shawn decided to peek, see if it really was a stranger at the door and so went to the window and poked his head out. The man didn't notice him, but he noticed the pizza! Shawn raced down and opened the door wide.

"Food?" He asked with a hopeful expression.

The man chuckled. "Yup. I got two deep pan Hawaiian's here" he said whilst handing Shawn the boxes.

"I don't have any money" Shawn realised out loud and the man waved it off.

"Don't worry Kid. Your dad already paid"

"He paid?" Shawn asked in disbelief. The man looked at him with concern and nodded once.

"You alright?" the man asked.

"Yes. Sorry. Thanks for the pizza!" Shawn snapped as he shut the door on the man and he leant against it, breathing heavily.

He could not believe it. What the hell was going on? His dad had ordered him food! Shawn was over the moon as he tucked into his pizza. Shawn recognised the yellow squares as pineapple and ate all of it before actually eating the now ham pizza. The night was full of surprises though as the phone began to ring. Shawn thought about ignoring it but it was beginning to get on his nerves. Slowly he went up to the phone and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" he whispered.

"_Hello, Can I please speak to Henry Spencer?"_

Shawn froze. His father wasn't in. What was he supposed to do hang up? Let them know that his house would be very easy to rob at this very moment.

_"Who is this? Shawn?"_

"Hello?" he asked again.

_"My name is Robert, Robert Dunly. What's your name?"_

"Shawn" he said, Robert already knew his name.

_"Hi Shawn. I need to speak with your daddy, can you put him on the phone?"_

"He's….not here. He's at work still" he explained chancing it.

_"Oh I see. Well can I speak to you babysitter then please?"_

"I'm no baby! I haven't got a baby sitter. I'm eight!" Shawn said quite proudly.

_"Are you alone in the house Shawn?"_

"Uh huh. My Dad will be back soon though. If you wanna speak with him, call de cops cos my daddy's a cop." Shawn explained being helpful.

_"Thank you Shawn. We will"_

There was a clicking noise and the phone call ended. Shawn was very thankful for that. However that made Shawn paranoid for the rest of the night. He jumped at every creek and sound. He was sure that someone would break in to the house and kill him. He had basically just gone ahead and told a random stranger than he is an eight year old boy alone in a house. At least Ross was with him though. Ross went everywhere with him. Shawn knew he was very good at hiding from other people. Shawn suspected he wore some sort of invisibility cloak because he was the only one who could ever see him. He definitely was real though, he had always been a friend to Shawn. Had kept him company, warned him about things and enjoyed doing the experiments with Shawn. Shawn had been careful never to mention him in front of his father when he was younger. He was sure his dad had seen him talking to him a few times. But he had forgotten about his existence after a while.

_At least I told him my daddy's a cop! _ Shawn thought. No burglar would want to get him. Shawn knew his father would save him. After all he's been really nice lately. He's been treated to pineapple and pizza. His brand new favorite things of the world.

* * *

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...

Robert Dunly was a fair man and he had just gotten off the phone with Shawn Spencer who sounded absolutely petrified. Robert had a huge decision to make as to who got the custody of Shawn. Robert had been leaning towards Henry. He had a stable well paid job and maintained the house so Shawn wouldn't have the difficulty of moving. After speaking to Maddy he realised that she wanted to travel the world. With no stable living environment and a job that did not get her a reliable income Maddy wasn't fit to take care of a child. However, Maddy had said somethings about Henry that made him rethink. She said the school rang her saying he wasn't being fed, that his clothes were dirty and that he worked too many hours to probably look after a young child. Robert was tempted to agree. Especially as Shawn had already gotten home from school and Henry wasn't there, nor had he arranged a babysitter or a neighbour to keep an eye on him. Robert decided to ring Shawn's school and find out what exactly was going on and was put into contact with Miss Pomme who expressed her concerns and divulged the latest information about Shawn's imaginary friend.

This was going to be a difficult decision and he knew it. All he wanted was for what is best for Shawn and he made a decision that no one would have expected.

* * *

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...

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Henry read the letter he had just received with astonishment. He couldn't believe it. How the hell had this happened?

Custody had gone to Maddy on the grounds of Henry not being able to provide what Shawn needed. But then Henry read the end of the letter. It seems Miss Jones had come back to him. Somehow Maddy had found out about her diagnoses and she was sending him to West Haven. Henry couldn't believe it but there was nothing he could do. It said in the letter that his son had an imaginary friend called Ross who had been with him for years. Henry vaguely remembered Shawn talking to himself when he was younger but he always thought he was muttering under his breath like people did when they were angry or upset. Not talking to another person entirely. Henry could have kicked himself for not noticing. Henry began to silent cry as he read that his son would be picked up this weekend. Shawn glanced at the day. It was Thursday afternoon. They were coming the day after tomorrow.

Tom noticed something was up and came over.

"What's up partner?" he asked seriously and Henry just thrust him the letter.

"Unbelievable!" Tom shouted shocked. Karen heard and came over to see what was happening, after seeing Henry's face she was instantly concerned.

"They're sending him to West Haven" Henry announced. A few officers heard this announcement whilst passing by and by lunchtime everyone knew and was offering him sympathy and reassuring him that it might not be that bad news.

"You'll be able to visit" on person told him.

"At least he's not with your ex-wife" another said.

"He'll get the treatment he needs" Karen assured him, "and full time care, he will be properly looked after"

"You saying I can't look after my son?" Henry snapped and Karen looked shocked. Tom put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"I'm sorry" Henry admitted. "Let the Chief know where I am and give him the letter. I have to speak to Shawn"

Karen nodded, completely understanding and watched Henry as he left in a hurry to his son's school.

* * *

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...

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Henry arrived when Shawn was in his fourth lesson. He went to the front desk first and demanded to see his son.

"Is there some sort of emergency?" the receptionist asked and Henry groaned aloud. Why wouldn't this woman let him see his own son?

"Mr Spencer?" Miss Pomme asked in surprise.

"Yes, that's me" Henry responded.

"My name is Miss Pomme. I'm the school nurse"

"yeah, Shawn mentioned you, said you are friends with Miss Jones" Henry realised.

"Yes, that's right" she gave a small smile.

"He's going to West haven next week" Henry declared suddenly and she gasped in shock.

"Are you sure?" she asked, she would miss Shawn if he left. He was a regular visitor of hers and she couldn't believe that a father would be willing to leave his son.

"It's not my choice. My wife won custody and she is sending him there" Henry admitted glumly.

"I'm sorry" she said quietly before realising what the reason for his presence. "I'll make the arrangements Mr Spencer. I'll go fetch your son. He needn't come into school tomorrow unless he wants to say his goodbyes. But… I think he would rather spend the day with you." She finished and Henry blinked away a tear and nodded awkwardly.

* * *

.

...

...

...

Shawn was looking down at his maths book and doodling. They were meant to be doing their sums but Shawn refused to do them and so was bored. He was drawing pineapple's into his book as they were special to him. A pineapple was the first thing his father had given him in two years. Even though he ate it, Shawn vowed that he would treasure it for the rest of his life.

When Miss Pomme knocked on the door, Shawn was surprised to find Miss Pomme there. She seemed sad as she apologised for interrupting the lesson.

"I'm here to take Shawn. His father is waiting for him in reception" she explained and the teacher nodded. Shawn wondered if he were in trouble and was sure everyone else was thinking the exact same thing. Gus nudged him worried.

"You haven't done anything stupid have you?" he whispered, "Like the time brought in a rat of the street and let it loose in the kitchens"

Shawn shook his head and smiled at him.

"BYE EVERYONE" Shawn yelled before bounding out. Super excited about the fact his father had come see him. He father had never come to see him before, ever. He wondered it fit was normal to be picked up by his daddy in the middle of the day. Maybe it was a trick. Maybe it wasn't his father and was someone who was going to kidnap him and kill him in a horrible way. Maybe he was going to put him in the freezer to see if he died.

Miss Pomme walked with him to reception and noticed as Shawn slowed his walking pace and started walking behind her. She held out her hand and he immediately grabbed it, squeezing tightly with nerves. Miss Pomme didn't anything but as they reached reception Shawn spotted his father by the desk waiting. Shawn stepped out from behind her and Henry noticed immediately and gave a watery smile.

"Hey kid" Henry greeted him and Shawn looked a little confused.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, walking closer to his father. Miss Pomme bowed her head awkwardly catching Henry's eyes as she walked away. Henry was thankful for this and knelt down to look Shawn in the eyes.

"I need to talk to you kiddo" Henry explained as his eyes filled with tears. How on earth was he meant to break this to him?

Shawn began to walk towards the door and Henry sighed before standing up and following him.

"Let's go home, kid" Henry sighed defeated. He would delay the conversation until then.

Shawn then grinned and pulled his father by the hand and Henry let out a small laugh at his excitement. Shawn somehow pulled him in the direction of the car instinctively making Henry wonder how he knew where he parked.

Henry was an observant man when he chose to be and when they were both seated, he opened the glove compartment and took out a lolly pop. Shawn immediately lit up, a bright big smile that made Henry inwardly cringe. _It really wasn't fair_ Henry thought to himself as Shawn sucked on his lolly and he drove home.

Upon reaching the front door Henry took a moment to observe his house. It was so messy. Dirty even. Shawn took no notice of his father's hesitancy and bounded inside.

"What now daddy?" Shawn asked and Henry blinked. How could he even start.

"Shawn….I need to talk to you" he said in a serious manner and Shawn just looked at him, curious.

"As you know, you mum left us and it has been decided that you are to live with that nice lady that came to see you. Miss Jones, do you remember her?" Henry asked quietly, wondering how his son was going to respond.

Shawn nodded slowly as the information sunk in slowly.

His mummy didn't want him anymore. He could have guessed, she did leave without saying goodbye.

"She works at a place called West Haven" Henry explained, not bringing him to add psychiatric centre on the end.

"You will get to leave with other people like you and get better" Henry tried to explain, he was starting to tear up and Shawn only stared at him confused.

"Am I ill?" Shawn asked and Henry let out a watery smile. "Cos Miss Pomme took my bread away cos it was smelly and blue! She said that would make me ill but I didn't eat it! I swear!"

Henry's eyes widened for a moment before he strived to the bread bin and opened it up. An odour immediately hit him and he moaned out loud. Shawn was right; he should not have left this mouldy bread here. Henry held the bread away from him and put it in the bin.

"She's right. Never eat blue bread" Henry told him as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"When do I go?" Shawn asked, his big round eyes beginning to tear as well. He didn't want to live in a strange place. He didn't want his daddy to abandon him either.

"Saturday" Henry told him. "So…" he knelt down to Shawn's level and looked him in the eyes. "We are gonna spend all day together tomorrow ok kid?"

Shawn blinked again as a tear rolled down his face.

"Ok daddy" he sobbed and Henry embraced the boy in a big hug.

"It'll be ok son… I promise" Henry replied quietly, returning the hug.

Shawn couldn't believe what he had been told and he ran upstairs to get his pyjamas on, Henry smiled weakly, watching his son bound up the stairs two at a time. That's when Henry decided he would have to order take out again. He didn't really want to leave the house that night knowing he could burst into tears at any moment. He didn't want to have to be seen and pretend to be strong when he was crying inside. Pizza was a no go though and so Henry ordered Chinese. He was unsure of where Shawn had ever had Chinese before but he would just hope that Shawn like it.

Shawn put his pyjamas on as fast as he could and did something that he hadn't done in the past few days. He rang Gus. Thankfully school had already finished and Gus was home but it was Mrs Guster that picked up the telephone.

_"Hello"_

_"_Hi Miss Guster. Can I speak with Gus? He's my bestest friend"

_"Shawn? Is that you?"_

"Yup!"

_"Gus told me what happened at school. I…. I hope you like being at West Haven Psychiatric Centre."_

Shawn froze. Psychiatric centre?

_"Your daddy told me your hallucinations and other things… I really hope you get better. Anyway, I will put Gus on the phone, one moment."_

Shawn froze, what were hallucinations? What did psychiatric mean? His daddy hadn't told him that. Shawn decided that he would ask him when he went downstairs; after all he had a right to know what was wrong with him and why he had to leave.

_"Hello? Shawn is that you"_

_"_Gus!"

_"What happened earlier? Why did your dad come?"_

_"_He told me that I'll be going to live with Miss Jones. Daddy said he would spend the whole day with me tomorrow and then he was gonna leave me… just like mummy did"

_"Oh… where will you live? I'll visit! I promise! Will you still come to school?"_

"I don't know yet Gus. You'll have to ask my daddy. You know what a psychiatric centre is?"

_"… I think it's a place where the send crazy people"_

Shawn froze again for a second but he noticed Gus' hesitancy to say that from the pause when he had asked.

_"Shawn?"_

Shawn snapped out of it as he realised that his father thought he was crazy. That must be why there was something wrong with him, why Miss Pomme took his blood: to test for craziness. Shawn gulped.

"You think I'm crazy?"

Shawn was sobbing at this point and Gus was quick to reassure him.

_"You think a normal person would paint their face green? Set rats loose in the kitchen or freeze their pat rabbits?"_

"No…?"

_"Exactly. You're special and my bestest friend! I don't care what anyone says! I'll come visit you! I promise!"_

"Good! I gotta go. I'm hungry, not sure if my dad actually has any food left though. Better go find out. I will see you soon then?"

_"You betcha! Shawn! See you soon!"_

Shawn didn't say bye. There was no point. He would see Gus soon enough. He forgot to ask what a hallucination as, he realised as he hung up the phone.

"You know what a hallucation is?" Shawn asked Ross.

Ross shrugged at him. _"No clue, sorry." _

So his dad thought he was crazy and was sending him a way to crazy people place. Shawn wiped the tears from his face and walked back downstairs. Henry smiled when he saw his son, though looked at him concerned as he noticed the redness of his eyes.

"I've ordered Chinese for tea" Henry stated awkwardly and Shawn stared at him. Henry froze as he realised Shawn was doing the starey thing again.

Shawn went to sit down in front of the TV and almost immediately stood up again after hearing the doorbell go. Henry followed his son as he opened the door stared outside for a moment before Shawn came back inside and sat down. Henry frowned, that was strange.

Henry thought about asking Shawn about it but then the doorbell rang. Shawn however didn't move from his spot on the sofa and Henry sighed. He grabbed his wallet and got the Chinese food. He thanked the guy at the door and put the food on the table. Henry separated the food off and gave Shawn his along with a pair of chopsticks. Henry went and sat next to Shawn and he put the TV on. Shawn jumped when the screen flickered on and he stared at it in amazement before looking doubtful. Maybe Shawn was "watching" the TV again when it turned on.

Shawn didn't say a word when Henry gave him his food and Henry saw Shawn struggling with the chopsticks. He reached over to help but Shawn shot him a glance and began using the chopsticks like spears by stabbing the food. He did this expertly which freaked Henry out as the juice oozed out of the meat like a knife piercing flesh. Henry only hoped that isn't what Shawn pictured too.

Years ago, Henry wanted nothing more for Shawn to follow in his footsteps and grow up to be the best cop anyone had ever seen. Though now, Henry knew that without help. His son might just grow up to be the greatest criminal in the world.

"So Shawn…school told me about your friend Ross" Henry started feebly.

"They did?" Shawn asked confused.

"They said you see him a lot?" Henry asked. Shawn grinned at him, knowing that he was super special to be able to see Ross as he was Shawn's friend, no one else's.

"Yup" Shawn said before turning solemn, "**he** never leaves me"

Henry sighed, it was a touchy subject, Shawn's mother, and Henry had no urge to ask any more so they continued the meal in silence.

When Shawn finished his meal he put the wrappers on the floor for Henry to clear away. Henry glanced round to see where Shawn was going and found him beginning to go upstairs. Shawn paused suddenly, as if he had sensed his eyes watching him. Shawn turned his gaze and glared at his father once more before he continued upstairs to bed. It was early put he didn't want to be around his father anymore. Plus the stress of today meant that Shawn was already tired. Shawn had no trouble getting to sleep that night.

Henry was a mess. He had no idea what to do. Henry had explained everything and Shawn took It amazingly well. He spent a lot of time getting changed but from what Henry saw afterwards, it was obvious that Shawn had been crying. Henry only wished he had been there to comfort him. Henry ate a few more of his mouthfuls before following Shawn up the stairs and was shocked at the sight he saw. Shawn was already fast asleep in his bed, snoring softly. Henry smiled at the sight of his sleeping son and crept round by his bed to say good night.

"Night Shawn" he whispered as he pulled the duvet up beneath his chin. He noticed an alarm clock beside his bed and Henry studied it for a moment; wondering how he could switch it off. Although Henry wanted to spend as much time as possible with his son he wanted his son to be well rested. Seeing as he didn't need to get up for school Henry pulled the plug on the clock altogether.

Shawn moaned slightly as the sound and murmured something incomprehensibly. Henry smiled with sadness as he left the room to get some sleep himself.

Tomorrow was going to be the best day of Shawn's life. He was going to make sure of it.

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**Author note: So one day of freedom for Shawn before he goes to his new home. How sad...  
So it was actually all Maddy's fault but does Shawn know that? Nope!**

**Please leave me a review and tell me what you think. I really am interested in what you guys think.**

**REVIEW**

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	5. The Last Day

**Author note: I was going to update this weekend but I am going away for weekend so probably won't be able to update. So this is basically Shawn's last day at home with his dad. Read the whole thing in sadness as I did. **

**Please read and review!**

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Previously...

_"It'll be alright son" Henry paused before deciding, "I'll help"_

_For the next hour they packed. Every t-shirt down to every sock they could find was packed, except a set of clothes for the morning which Henry put in a pile. Henry took the opportunity to hide the photo of him and his son on the beach smiling into the camera. Shawn would be surprised later and would mean he always had a picture of him. A lot of toys still cluttered his room but Shawn wasn't really bothered about a lot of them. Henry hauled the suitcase down the stairs will difficulty after it was packed and came back up separately to carry the box of toys._

_Henry tucked Shawn into bed with sadness as he realised this would be the last time he would do this. Shawn cried silently wondering why his daddy didn't want him. He had ignored Shawn for two years and now, when he finally began to show interest again, he sent him away. Shawn knew now that it wasn't just his teachers that didn't want him in class, it wasn't just his classmates who didn't want to be friends with him, it wasn't just them who didn't want Shawn around, his parents didn't either. He was being sent away._

_Shawn curled up and Henry whispered goodnight. Shawn ignored him._

_Henry crept out of the room and shut the door behind him before opening it again. Was Shawn scared of the dark? Henry decided to leave it open. It helped him that way, because as he walked off to go to his own bedroom, the last view he had was of his cute son, resting quietly, at peace. _

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Henry got up super early and ran down to the convenience store at the end of the street. He bought cereals and bread and a few other things that he thought Shawn might like, including a bag of lolly pops that Shawn seemed to like ever so much.

He let himself back into the house quietly and quickly checked on Shawn who was fast asleep and Henry let out a sigh of relief. He put the toast in the toaster and started to cut up a pineapple. Henry had no idea if Shawn actually liked the pineapple he had eaten, or whether he had actually eaten it but there was no harm in it. Henry knew he wanted today to be special and he knew how to make it so. Henry was well aware with his son's infatuation for lolly pops and Henry had bought a whole bag. If he had to feed him them all day he would.

Shawn woke up minutes later with the smell of food reaching his nostrils. Shawn grabbed his dressing gown and made his way downstairs quietly avoiding all of the stairs that creeped. Shawn stood there at the bottom of the stairs staring at his dad in the kitchen. He was buttering toast and stacking it in the middle of the table which for once, wasn't cluttered in police reports that needed filling out. Henry didn't notice Shawn standing there for a few minutes and Shawn just waited in silence, taking in what his dad was actually doing for him. Unless it wasn't for him, maybe they had guests? Shawn silently pondered whether he should get changed properly. It was then when Henry turned around and saw Shawn standing there staring.

Henry jumped when he saw his son. How had he managed to sneak up on him? He was a cop? He should be aware at all times. Dismissing his train of thought he quickly smiled at his son who just stared back, first at him and then the table.

"I made toast. There are pineapple slices too… I wasn't sure if you liked them or…"

Henry didn't get any further than that as he watched his son's face burst into a grin. His dad was giving him pineapple.

Shawn immediately came to sit down, excited. The spring in his step was back and he immediately reached for the pineapple.

Henry watched as his son ate the first piece and his face relaxed into what looked like pure heaven and Henry almost laughed out loud.

Henry ate too and ate a piece of toast watching as his son experimented with his food. He tried to put pineapple on toast, dry and with butter. He got a little bowl of cereal and tried it with that. The strangest thing Shawn did was beat the pineapple. Henry could only guess he was trying to make it into juice as Shawn used the sugar container to beat the pineapple into mush. Shawn then drank the rest of his milk and poured the mushy pineapple into his glass before drinking it all.

Henry looked a little repulsed before hiding it. Shawn didn't notice as he was too excited. He had just discovered how to make pineapple juice! Which, in his opinion was just as heavenly as pineapple. At least in this form he didn't hurt himself. Shawn really hated pointy things. Pointy things hurt him and annoyed him.

"So what do you wanna do today son?" Henry asked his son and Shawn grinned up at him in a way that only an enthusiastic eight year old could.

"Uh…" Shawn thought for a moment and Henry knew he would regret asking that question… well maybe not.

"I wanna see some animals and gut some fishes! I wanna go to the beach and make sandcastles and I wanna Furbie" Shawn told with excitement.

He wanted to gut fish? Henry frowned before grinning at his son. He could certainly do **some** of that stuff.

"Well, go and clean your teeth and wash your face. Get changed. We'll go and build some sandcastles on the beach" Henry grinned.

Shawn let out a small squeal of excitement as he ran up the stairs and Henry laughed slightly. He cleared the breakfast things away, eating a few of Shawn' crusts and checked to see what the weather was like. Henry was really glad that it was sunny and hoped that it wouldn't be too cold.

Shawn came bounding down two minutes later wearing shorts, a t-shirt and a fishing hat that was too big for him. Henry raised his eye brows at his speed but Shawn only grinned.

"Ok, ok" Henry laughed. "Let's go"

Henry grabbed his wallet and keys as well as a few lolly pops and he gave one to Shawn almost immediately who was grinning madly.

This was the best day ever! Shawn was very happy. He tried not to think about the reason he was doing this, guilt, but was just happy that he was. Shawn was certain that at least his father was going to say goodbye to him, unlike his mum that had just left with no warning what so ever. He grabbed the lolly and admired it for a few moments before stuffing it into his mouth so quickly that Henry thought he might choke.

Henry grabbed the buckets and spades from the shed and Shawn bounced up and down, impatiently waiting. Henry ran back to Shawn and it was then Henry realised how hot it was. If they were here for too long, Henry would run inside the house and get the sun cream. Considering that they lived on the seafront, Henry could keep an eye on him from inside the house.

Henry watched Shawn as he lit up, playing on the beach. Henry couldn't remember the last time they had done this. It must have been so long ago. Shawn made several sandcastles with his bucket and motioned for his dad to join him. Who was he to say no? It may have looked a bit strange for a person of his age to be building sandcastles with his eight year old child. Eight year olds weren't meant to get that excited about building sandcastles, but Shawn, always the exception, was.

"We'll build a mote! And the crocodiles can go in it and eat the people that try and enter my fort" Shawn giggled. Suddenly a bigger wave rippled over the walls of the castle and Shawn moaned loudly before exclaiming,

"We're under attack! Rebuild! REBUILD" Henry laughed at his son and helped him rebuild the castle. Shawn turned his back to the sea as he struggled to rebuild the front of the castle. Just as he managed it, another huge wave came over the wall. Shawn jumped in surprise and fell backwards into the water. Henry reached out to catch him but the end result was the same. Shawn was covered in water which meant the sand stuck to him.

Shawn laughed it off in pure glee and Henry smiled at his reaction.

"Can we go get people to put in the castle?" Shawn asked innocently and Henry laughed.

"Sure kid! We'll get some sun cream too" Henry added. Shawn sprinted away back to the house and Henry followed as fast as he could. Henry opened the door and Shawn ran upstairs to get his toys. Shawn grabbed his plastic people, his collection of toy soldiers. He had about a hundred of them and so stuffed them all in a plastic bag. Shawn then spotted his small dinosaur collection and put them in the bag too, excited he ran back down.

Henry was waiting at the bottom of the stairs after grabbing the sun cream and his camera. If this was going to be his last day with his son in a while he was going to make it memorable and take as many pictures as he possibly could. Shawn paused, wondering whether he was going to get sprayed now, or once they were out there on the beach.

"Now?" he asked.

Henry looked at him, "You crazy? Not inside the house" he laughed, not realising his mistake. Shawn then ran outside and Henry quickly followed him, wondering why he took off so fast until he realised his mistake.

_Did Shawn know? Did he understand? Oh God._

Henry quickly relocked the door again and gave chase.

Shawn tried not to let his father's words get to him as he pretended to pretended to drawn his toys in the mote and envisioned them being eaten by the crocodiles, he laughed cruelly.

Henry felt bad but had in his pocket the one thing that would solve everything. Another lollypop. Shawn quickly forgot his problems as he grabbed it excitedly. Henry smiled and began putting a bit of sun cream on his skin. Shawn held his arms out to be sun creamed but Henry only laughed at him.

"We need to get some of this sand off first" he laughed and Shawn giggled too. Shawn shook his head and pointed at the camera around Henry's neck.

Henry immediately understood as he whipped off the camera so he could get a picture of his son, completely covered in sand and showing off his latest creation, the castle.

Shawn posed and Henry took the picture that came out a few seconds later. Henry put it in his pocket for a few seconds to let it develop properly in the darkness. Henry took out the photo as Shawn started getting the sand off him so his dad could get the cream on him. Henry stared at the picture. His son looked perfectly happy next to his half broken castle with a lolly pop stick poking out from his teeth. The only thing Henry didn't like about the photo was the dinosaurs and people which were drowning in the mote which you could clearly see. Henry knew that every time he looked at this picture, he would be reminded that his son pretended to kill people for amusement.

Henry put the photo away and decided to take another, this time with him in the picture too. They posed with their backs to the sea. Henry smiled as he held up the camera and he saw his son looking at him.

"Say cheese!" Henry told him, Shawn quickly looked to the camera and gave his best cheesiest grin.

"Hold on son, one more" Henry said and they posed again. Henry desperately wanted this photo with him and his son, he only hoped at least one of them developed properly.

The beach was more or less deserted at this hour. All of the children were at school, except Shawn and the only people that could be seen were couples taking a romantic stroll on the board walk. Shawn continues playing happily and Henry took a few pictures while Shawn was occupied. Henry wanted to remember this day forever.

Shawn suddenly looked up as he heard a familiar tune and Henry raised his head. It was the ice cream can that had just stopped down the road. Shawn looked at the truck for a few moments then at his dad with an almost pleading expression. Henry immediately relented.

"Let's go get some ice cream then kid" he said and Shawn lit up. They left their spades on the beach and raced to the ice cream van, wanting to get there before it drove off.

"Can I have that?" Shawn asked with excitement as he pointed to the board.

Henry peered over and said, "We'll have one Rocket and a Feast please" as he got out his wallet from his shorts and handed over a five pound note.

The man smiled, not questioning why Shawn wasn't in school which Henry was very thankful for. Henry didn't really want to explain his circumstances to anyone. Obviously the whole station knew what was happening and the members of Shawn's school also were in the loop but that didn't mean that Henry wanted to go announcing it to everyone. Like the saying went, give news to a post man, it will get delivered all around the world.

The man handed over the ice lollies and then gave Henry his change. Henry thanked him and ran after Shawn who had run back to guard the buckets and spades from a deserted beach.

Henry gestured for Shawn to join him on the wall as they ate their ice lollies and Shawn instantly obeyed. Henry went a bit distant and his eyes glazed over in un-dropped tears as he remembered what would be happening tomorrow. His son was going to be taken away from him.

"Daddy?" Shawn asked seriously. Henry looked at him and blinked. Shawn watched as tear ran down his daddy's cheek in fascination.

"Are you ok?" Shawn asked again and Henry nodded and gave a watery smile.

"Off you go and play, son" he whispered. Shawn gave his father a curious glance before running back to his sandcastles. Shawn then managed to swallow his ice lolly cold and throw the stick in the sand and Henry smiled, his son was definitely going to get a brain freeze.

Henry let out a choked laugh as he watched his son playing and having fun, especially when he discovered that the sea had completely ruined his sandcastle and all of his people and dinosaurs had drowned. Shawn laughed at them before reaching in and saving them and Henry watched as Shawn played with the figurines as the dinosaurs ate the people. Shawn watched as Shawn interacted with an imaginary figure and Henry silently cried for a few minutes until he noticed that more people had come out, now that it was early in the afternoon. Henry wiped his tears and tried to pretend like nothing was wrong. Shawn knew better but knew that the only reason his father was crying was because he felt guilty that he was sending him away. Henry never did have the heart to say it was Maddy's decision. There was no point passing the blame along, for Henry knew he was just as guilty as she was.

What felt like a second later to Henry was more like ten minutes to Shawn and he came bounding over holding a few dinosaurs in his hands.

"Daddy, I'm hungry" Shawn complained in a whiny voice, tugging on his father's sleeve.

Henry nodded and picked his son up who giggles slightly and Henry took a moment to remove a rather large lump on sand which had attached itself to Shawn's face. Shawn itched his face and tried to reach the spot with his tongue to taste it but Henry squeezed tighter into a hug before putting him down.

"Let's go get some grub then champ" Henry smiled and he strode forward to collect all of the spades and buckets and Shawn helped by holding out the bag for all of his toys to go in. Shawn frowned as he realised that not all of them were there. He dug with his hands for a few moments searching for them before he looked out into the sea, realising that they must have been swept away. Shawn rubbed his hands together to get rid of the sand and decided that he didn't care about the soldiers. They had lost their life's bravely in battle, which was the best way to die? Wasn't it?

Henry held out his hand and Shawn grasped it eagerly. Henry carried the bag of bucket and spades in his other arm and he walked with Shawn along the board walk.

They walked in silence until Shawn had a question.

"Will you come and visit me at Miss Jones'?" Shawn asked innocently and Henry automatically tensed. Shawn interpreted that signal as a no and so looked down and continued walking.

"Of course I will kid" Henry replied kneeling down and looking Shawn right in the eye, "I promise" Henry added, seeing Shawn's doubtful expression.

"Ok" Shawn replied shyly.

Henry found a restaurant close to the house and got a table for two almost immediately as it wasn't very busy. A waitress came over and Henry ordered two lemonades and two burgers, certain that Shawn would like it. Who doesn't like burgers?

Shawn munched happily on his burger and Henry couldn't help noticing the continuous twitch in his son's right leg, like he had too much energy and his leg was jerking. Henry then noticed something about his son that he had never noticed before. Shawn always had lots of energy, Henry knew that children were a handful and it saddened him that only now was he discovering who his son actually is. Henry wished more than anything to rewind the clock but he was caught in the middle of web. Yes, he had ignored his son for the past two years and he understood the reason. He had been promoted, he was no longer an officer of the law, he was a detective now and he had extra responsibilities. Henry loves his job and he was only now discovering how much he loved his son. His son that would soon be taken to a mental institution. Part of him was angry at Maddy but there was nothing he could do now. He could only hope that this place, West Haven, would help Shawn.

Henry refused point blank to take Shawn fishing. His son was energetic and he knew that the boat would be rocking continuously until one of them was sick. Most probably he would be the first the throw up his hamburger into the Ocean. Plus if they did catch anything, Henry didn't want to watch his son gut fish. Henry didn't want to know if he possessed any skill, or the look on his face when he did it. Would he enjoy it? Henry shook his head. He didn't want to think about this. It was time to get moving. They had half a day left and Henry knew just where to take him.

Henry paid for their meals and he gave Shawn another lolly pop for pudding. Shawn was instantly excited upon receiving it and Henry felt bad for a moment that he was technically forcing his son to be happy by feeding him lolly pops which he seemed to crave and seemed to solve anything. But ultimately, Henry wanted Shawn to enjoy his last day, his last taste of freedom.

A short drive in the car, Henry insisted upon. Shawn complained every two minutes saying,

"Are we there yet?" like any child would. Henry had the normal reaction of saying "no" the first few times but by the hundredth time Henry was fed up and ignored him instead. Shawn smiled when he realised he was annoying him. Shawn had never gotten a chance to use that line he had heard so many other kids use and grinned to himself thinking that is how it's supposed to be done. Over and over again. Ross kept laughing and urged Shawn to continue and so he did.

Shawn kept repeating the line even when he knew his father wouldn't respond and he could tell his dad was going a bit batty with annoyance. Shawn only stopped after his father suddenly shouted to him.

"YES"

Shawn froze, yes what? They were here! Shawn focused on what he could see and wasn't that surprised when he found himself looking at Santa Barbra Zoo. Shawn had been here once before when he was little and he remembered every detail clearly. Shawn reabsorbed the Zoo again and was keen to look for differences.

Henry got out of the car and caught his son staring at the zoo. He remembered the last time they were here. It was as a family, years ago, when Shawn was only four years old. Henry knew his son couldn't remember that far back and so visiting the zoo would be a first for him.

"Ready to see some animals, son?" Henry asked with a smirk. Shawn went wide eyed and nodded and they both approached the information desk quickly.

The lady smiled as she welcomed them to Santa Barbra Zoo and Henry quickly paid for them both to enter. The lady smiled as she told them to enjoy themselves and warned them that a few of the floors were wet. It was nice of her to mention, but a little too late. Shawn had already gone running off in to the distance and managed to slip over on the wet floor.

"Thanks" Henry grunted out before rushing over to see if Shawn was hurt. Shawn was thankful for his dad's help as he struggled to stand up and smiled at him. Henry only smiled back.

Shawn practically dragged his dad round all of the exhibits and they were there several hours. Henry took pictures of everything and every animal he could, perhaps he would make a little collage so Shawn could take it with him? Shawn spent ages gazing at the dolphins and attempted to bypass security as he wanted to swim with the dolphins. Henry couldn't actually remember if Shawn knew how to swim, knew it was dangerous and it most definitely wasn't aloud. Henry had much fun apologising to one of the guards. Henry briefly explained that Shawn couldn't help it and the guard didn't seem to believe him. The guard made them leave the dolphin area and Shawn was disappointed, he almost started crying. He had wanted to stay there longer; he wanted to talk to the dolphins. After visiting the rest of the exhibits including the snakes that Shawn hissed at, seemingly having a proper conversation that people passing gave him freaky looks and whispered in the cover of the darkness, Henry and Shawn left to go home.

They stopped on the way back for hotdogs and Shawn managed to get ketchup absolutely everywhere. It looked a bit like blood and that sickened Henry slightly.

By the time they had eaten and driven the rest of the way home it was getting quite late and Henry had to tell Shawn something he wished he didn't. No father should be sending their kid away. Henry let them both into the house and Henry went into his room and pulled out the spare suitcase, the one that his wife had not taken. Ex-wife actually, they were now officially divorced thanks to those custody agreement papers. That was the last step.

"Everything you want to take with you needs to go in this suitcase, ok? All the clothes in here and all of your toys can go in this box"

Shawn looked at him and nodded slowly, trying to blink away the tears. Part of Shawn had hoped that his daddy had a good time too and decided that he wanted to keep him, but he guessed that would have been too good to be true.

"It'll be alright son" Henry paused before deciding, "I'll help"

For the next hour they packed. Every t-shirt down to every sock they could find was packed, except a set of clothes for the morning which Henry put in a pile. Henry took the opportunity to hide the photo of him and his son on the beach smiling into the camera. Shawn would be surprised later and would mean he always had a picture of him. A lot of toys still cluttered his room but Shawn wasn't really bothered about a lot of them. Henry hauled the suitcase down the stairs will difficulty after it was packed and came back up separately to carry the box of toys.

Henry tucked Shawn into bed with sadness as he realised this would be the last time he would do this. Shawn cried silently wondering why his daddy didn't want him. He had ignored Shawn for two years and now, when he finally began to show interest again, he sent him away. Shawn knew now that it wasn't just his teachers that didn't want him in class, it wasn't just his classmates who didn't want to be friends with him, it wasn't just them who didn't want Shawn around, his parents didn't either. He was being sent away.

Shawn curled up and Henry whispered goodnight. Shawn ignored him.

Henry crept out of the room and shut the door behind him before opening it again. Was Shawn scared of the dark? Henry decided to leave it open. It helped him that way, because as he walked off to go to his own bedroom, the last view he had was of his cute son, resting quietly, at peace.

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**Author note: Thanks for reading till the end and for reviewing!**

**Ok shoutouts people!**

**Thank you to Margirli13 for her insight to the American language. I will take the comments in mind as I am writing more but I am not going to go back and change all of what I have already written... so It will change eventually. :)**

**NinetailsYoda : the reason why the guy Robert Dunly gave custody to Maddy was because he wasn't feeding Shawn, was too dedicated to his job. Even though Henry was trying, Robert didn't know that as when he rang he wasn't home and he only discovered that Shawn had been left alone without a baby sitter and was scared stiff.**

**Alex: I think to many people set Henry out as the bad guy. I always thought that Maddy was the one who left and so the whole thing school be blamed on her. She thinks her son is a freak, her profession means she can't think objectivley about her son. she just thinks that her son is one of these freaks she has to sort out. And yes, this will go to when he is an adult. And yeah, real life experiences help writing. **

**Phnxgrl: Thanks for your continues support! So glad you enjoy my story!**

**NEXT TIME:**

**Shawn and Henry part as Shawn gets admitted into the mental institution Henry distracts himself with work then accidently makes the worst and best decision he has ever made.**


	6. Parting

**Author note: ****Thanks for reading guys! or being bothered to click on it in any case. Here is the next chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

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The morning came much too soon for Henry as he made his way downstairs and made then both breakfast. Henry couldn't believe that Shawn would be going today and it had only just occurred to him that he hadn't let Shawn say goodbye to any of his friends. Henry felt touched as he realised that Shawn hadn't wanted to spend the day with him instead.

Shawn awoke to hear the sound of movement downstairs. He looked around his room and found the clothes that his dad had laid out the previous night after he had fallen asleep. Shawn was painfully reminded of them packing the previous night. His dad really was going to get rid of him.

Shawn trudged downstairs and ate his breakfast in silence, not paying attention to his father who tried painfully to engage in conversation.

Henry tried pointlessly but Shawn wouldn't respond. Henry understood that Shawn was upset and wished more than anything to hold him and never let him go. To reassure his son that he didn't have to go. But Henry knew that he couldn't give Shawn the attention he needed without giving up his job and he couldn't do that. His job meant everything to him and how could he provide for Shawn without money anyway. It was a lost cause and Henry knew it.

Silently, Henry loaded the car with Shawn's things and Shawn watched creepily from the window. Henry wasn't sure if he blinked or not. Part of Henry realised that his son probably needed to be admitted and hoped his son would be happy there, he really did.

Shawn did get in the car willingly to Henry's surprise. He was almost sure that he would make a huge fuss and up having to be dragged out of the house.

Shawn remembered the conversation he had with his father earlier.

...

_"Will you come and visit me at Miss Jones'?" Shawn asked innocently and Henry automatically tensed. Shawn interpreted that signal as a no and so looked down and continued walking._

_"Of course I will kid" Henry replied kneeling down and looking Shawn right in the eye, "I promise" Henry added, seeing Shawn's doubtful expression._

_"Ok" Shawn replied shyly._

_..._

His dad had made a promise to him and Shawn hoped that he kept it. Henry drove in silence and Shawn peered out the window, soaking up every detail. Just when Henry was giving up hope on conversation with his son Shaw asked a question that Henry choked on.

"Are we there yet?"

Henry choked and stumbled for an answer. He wanted to say no, that he would never leave him, but he had no choice. He wished he did, desperately.

"Yeah son. We're here" Henry almost sobbed and in that moment Shawn almost felt sorry for him. His father was feeling guilty about giving his son. Shawn wasn't that bothered, his dad said he would come and see him so what was the big deal with saying goodbye? Shawn hadn't seen his dad for two years, only heard him shouting with his mother. If his dad came to visit him in a few years Shawn would be happy. Granted Shawn had a great time yesterday, spending the whole day with his dad was way over due and Shawn enjoyed it. But Shawn knew better than all people that good things didn't last.

Henry hauled Shawn's luggage and Shawn carried his box of toys to the entrance and he and Henry paused to look up at the sign.

"Come on, son" Henry sighed and gestured for Shawn to walk inside. Shawn walked slowly and Henry only seemed to speed up, wanting to get this over and done with. So he could get past this painful moment over and done with. Henry didn't want his son to witness him breaking down.

"Hi. My name is Henry Spencer" Henry introduced himself to the lady who was waiting just inside.

"And this must be Shawn!" she greeted. Shawn smiled timidly back before looking down at the ground.

"Miss Jones has told us all about you" she gushed, excited for Shawn to be joining them, it had been a while since they had gotten any new blood and she was excited. Perhaps a kid would liven things up a little bit?

"My name is Mrs Adams and I run this centre" she introduced herself. She looked round and spotted one of her colleagues, she snapped her fingers and used her head to gesture him to come over.

"Daniel, would you please take Shawn's bags, pop them through the scanner and put them in the room we talked about and let Miss Jones that Shawn Spencer had arrived" she instructed.

"Of course ma'am" he bowed before taking the suitcase of Henry and attempting to take the box of Shawn. Shawn snatched it away with a scowl.

"Mine" he spat and Mrs Adams didn't look too surprised. Henry on the other hand visibly looked shocked as his eyes widened. He hadn't realised that he was so possessive.

"You'll get them back" Mrs Adams assured him but Shawn didn't have any intention of letting go.

"Hey Shawn. Guess what I saved..." Henry trailed off, causing Shawn to turn round.

Shawn quickly dropped his box of toys when he saw what was in his father's hand. It was a lolly pop. He instantly grinned and grabbed hold, before tearing off the wrapper and stuffing it in his mouth. Shawn moaned in pleasure and Mrs Adams raised her eye brow at his reaction.

"He loves them" Henry explained and Shawn looked up innocently as if this was news to his ears. Daniel took this opportunity to grab the box of toys, Shawn didn't notice.

"What's the scanner?" Henry asked curiously.

"It's just an examination of everything he's brought with him. Any dangerous items such as knives will be confiscated"

"He doesn't have any knives" Henry said, almost taking it as an insult. He would never let his son pack knives.

"Of course not. It's just a precaution, you understand?" she asked and Henry nodded.

"I better go" Henry stated, "I should have been at the station already."

"I understand. We'll give you a ring when you can visit him" she said nodding and Henry nodded to show he understood.

"Shawn" Henry stated and Shawn turned round to face him.

"I'll see you soon, ok?" Henry ruffled Shawn's hair and he immediately recoiled. Shawn was very protective about his hair.

Henry pretended to ignore his son's reaction and withdrew his hand quickly before continuing.

"Bye Shawn" Henry whispered and suddenly Shawn threw himself at his father, embracing him in a big hug. Henry hugged him back a little surprised and remembered not to touch his hair.

Shawn didn't let out a tear, confident that his dad would come and visit him soon. Gus would be there soon too, he had promised and Gus always kept his promises. Henry slowly pulled away, blinking away the unshed tears and gestured for Mrs Adams to take him away.

"Come on then Shawn, I'll show you your room" she said soothingly. Shawn walked away without looking back and Henry stumbled awkwardly as he made his way out, watching his son being led away.

_"He's never going to visit you" _Ross told him as Henry walked away. _"He tried to kill you remember?" _ Shawn looked at him doubtfull, unwilling to take his word as truth yet; he had yet to be wrong.

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After Henry had said goodbye to Shawn, he found it unbelievable how quickly he slipped back into routine. He began distracting himself by doing all the paperwork and working overtime which in his own way, he enjoyed. He was keeping the streets safe; he was putting bad people in prison. Henry didn't have time to think about his wife and son and after a while, everyone at the station forgot too.

Henry was a good cop and worked hard so the reason as to why he was sat in the Chief's office was a complete mystery. Henry became sick of Santa Barbra. There were never any huge crimes which granted, that was a good thing, but it didn't give Henry the rush he needed. He wanted his work to be acknowledged. None of his cases were ever printed in the newspaper as nothing exciting ever happened in Santa Barbra. That was when Mr Yang struck.

Henry was enjoying the rush of working hard on a case. Mr Yang was a crazy criminal and this was his game. He only wished Mr Yang had chosen him.

But he hadn't. He had chosen Tom. Thomas Leonard. Henry's best friend and partner on the force. Henry did everything he could to keep his partner alive. He helped him solve the clues and Henry was on top of it. Unfortunately, Mr Yang was three steps ahead of him.

The Chief walked into his office and sat down opposite Henry.

"Mr Spencer… I'm sure you are aware of the events that transpired yesterday evening" he began and Henry looked saddened. He was only too aware of what had happened yesterday.

Tom had died.

Died was a cruel word for it really, that wasn't what happened, he was murdered. Brutally. And it was all Henry's fault… or so he thought. Tom was Henry's partner, his friend. He should have been there for him and the one time he wasn't, when he actually needed him, he wasn't there.

Henry nodded solemnly.

"I know how hard it is to lose a partner and I wanted to offer counselling if you feel you need it" he trailed off. Henry shook his head; he would not show weakness in front of his boss.

"I don't need counselling Chief" Henry said boldly and the Chief showed a momentary lapse of shock.

"Well I don't know if you would consider this but recently there had been an opening in Miami for a new detective…"

Henry's eyes widened in shock. The crime rate was significantly higher in Miami and Henry knew he would make a difference there, but was he even suggesting?

"With your work ethic, you were the first person I thought of to transfer as I know you would put up 110% and-"

"I would love to" Henry stated barely containing his excitment, he couldn't believe it. Perhaps at Miami with more high profile cases he could prove himself and perhaps even get promoted to head detective.

"Really?" the Chief asked surprised. "I was sure you would decline" the Chief responded, thinking about the man's son, Shawn. Would Henry really leave Santa Barbra?

"Why would I decline such an amazing opportunity? I think it will be good to escape Santa Barbra, don't exactly have the best memories..." Henry trailed off, thinking off the previous night.

The Chief nodded, knowing all too well that his wife was now his ex, his son was in a mental institution and his partner had just died. But Henry wasn't thinking of Shawn he was too busy absorbed in the memories of the night before.

Henry had actually forgotten about Shawn. It had been two weeks since he had seen him and he hadn't received a phone call allowing visitation yet and so Henry had completely forgotten. With the whole Yang business and the stack of cases he had taken on as well as the additional paperwork, Henry practically lived at the station.

"Finish up the paperwork on this case and I'll send you over with your paperwork Monday morning"

"Understood" Henry replied and bowed his head before leaving the office.

He was going to Miami. He couldn't wait.

* * *

.

...

...

_"Bye Shawn" Henry whispered and suddenly Shawn threw himself at his father, embracing him in a big hug. Henry hugged him back a little surprised and remembered not to touch his hair._

_Shawn didn't let out a tear, confident that his dad would come and visit him soon. Gus would be there soon too, he had promised and Gus always kept his promises. Henry slowly pulled away, blinking away the unshed tears and gestured for Mrs Adams to take him away. _

_"Come on then Shawn, I'll show you your room" she said soothingly. Shawn walked away without looking back and Henry stumbled awkwardly as he made his way out, watching his son being led away._

_"He's never going to visit you" Ross told him as Henry walked away. "He tried to kill you remember?" Shawn looked at him doubtfull, unwilling to take his word as truth yet; he had yet to be wrong._

Shawn followed Mrs Adams obediently to his room and soaked in every detail of his surroundings. The twisty corridors, the doors that were private and locked with a metal pin machine. Shawn glared at them with contentment. He had read enough of his dad's police reports where they put their hands on the door knob and they have been electrocuted and Shawn did have a sense of preservation.

Shawn's room wasn't big. In fact it was very small. The double bed took up most of the room which was bathed in a white light.

Shawn gaped when he saw his room. It was so big! And that bed… it looked so inviting and Shawn ran up to it immediately and belly flopped onto the bed.

Mrs Adams smiled then turned her head to the side, distracted.

"Oh, Linda!" she gasped, "Shawn…. I know you've met Miss Jones?"

Shawn turned and indeed it was Miss Jones. The woman that had come to his house was standing outside his door.

Shawn nodded.

"Are we all set for our other arrival tomorrow?" Miss Jones asked and Mrs Adams nodded.

"Yes, everything is ready. She has been allocated the room down the corridor"

"Ok" Miss Jones told her before turning to Shawn. "How are you doing Shawn?"

Shawn glared at her, he was trying to embrace the comfort of his bed and the two women were just stood by the door peering in.

"Fine" he replied coldly.

Before they could respond Daniel, the man from earlier came rushing back with Shawn's box of toys and suitcase.

"We had to confiscate a letter opener and a penknife." Daniel informed her.

They were strange items for sure. Why would he feel the need to bring these items. Unless he meant to self-harm….

"Are we gonna let him keep his toys?" Daniel queried and Mrs Adams shrugged.

"We've never had a kid before…" Miss Jones commented.

"We'll let him have them, let him adapt. If there are any incidents we can confiscate them as punishment" Mrs Adams suggested.

They had this conversation in muted whisperes but Shawn was able to hear them, seemingly paying no attention.

"We'll leave you to unpack Shawn, Miss Jones will come and get you when it's time for lunch and you can meet the others"

Shawn didn't make any movement, and they thought that perhaps he hadn't heard them. The door closed quietly but Shawn snapped round. Noticing that his suitcase was there with his box of toys he rushed over.

Shawn's method of unpacking was rather unconventional. It just showed the uniqueness of his mind. He tipped his toys onto the floor and stuck some of them to the walls. The walls were white and boring in his opinion. They were white to act as a blank sheet so no additional stimulus would provoke patients. Shawn just found it plain and boring and couldn't wait to attack it with the paint. Shawn was glad they hadn't taken his blue tak away. He had managed to sneak a lot of things in his suitcase after his dad had gone to bed. Shawn made a scene on his wall with a dinosaur chasing after three soldiers. One lone soldier was firing on the dinosaur and Shawn laughed in the fact that that guy was about to be eaten. The rest of his toys were put in rows on a shelf in the corner. They were arranged perfectly in order with all of his soldiers facing the same direction on the same angle.

His clothes he just tipped on the floor, not worrying about creases. Sense found its way into Shawn and he separated his top halves from his bottom halves. He found a wardrobe and a set of draws. He put all of his clothes in the draws. It fit easily as they were deep draws. Shawn grinned at the prospect of the wardrobe. It was going to be Shawn's secret place. He searched for his penknife but couldn't find it. His dad had given him that penknife when he was four. Well maybe not given, Shawn had stolen it. His dad had always boasted about it. Gave the impression it was some magical device that could save you from chains and protect you from harm. Shawn had nicked it when he was little and with his dad's _amazing detective skills_, he had never figured out who had stolen it. Shawn began to get annoyed and angry. They had stolen his penknife… and his letter opener come to think of it. Now how was he meant to open his letters? And break stuff?

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**Author note: Thanks for reading guys!**

**So what did you think? What has Henry done? Moving to Miami? Well, it is understandable that he wouldn't want to stay in Santa Barbra after Tom's death, his wife;s death and his son's institutionalization.**

**But at least he promised to visit Shawn. :)**

**Please comment and let me know what you think. Any corrections are welcome just no reviews telling me how much it sucks... please. No flamers!**

**REVIEW!  
REVIEW!  
REVIEW!**


	7. Charlie

**Author note: Hey guys! Updating sooner than normal cos I promised 'Psychic101' that I would. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Psych.**

* * *

_"Bye Shawn" Henry whispered and suddenly Shawn threw himself at his father, embracing him in a big hug. Henry hugged him back a little surprised and remembered not to touch his hair._

_Shawn didn't let out a tear, confident that his dad would come and visit him soon. Gus would be there soon too, he had promised and Gus always kept his promises. Henry slowly pulled away, blinking away the unshed tears and gestured for Mrs Adams to take him away._

_"Come on then Shawn, I'll show you your room" she said soothingly. Shawn walked away without looking back and Henry stumbled awkwardly as he made his way out, watching his son being led away._

_"He's never going to visit you" Ross told him as Henry walked away. "He tried to kill you remember?" Shawn looked at him doubtful unwilling to take his word as truth yet; he had yet to be wrong._

* * *

_"We had to confiscate a letter opener and a penknife." Daniel informed her._

* * *

_Shawn didn't make any movement, and they thought that perhaps he hadn't heard them. The door closed quietly but Shawn snapped round. Noticing that his suitcase was there with his box of toys he rushed over._

* * *

_He searched for his penknife but couldn't find it. His dad had given him that penknife when he was four. Well maybe not given, Shawn had stolen it. His dad had always boasted about it. Gave the impression it was some magical device that could save you from chains and protect you from harm. Shawn had nicked it when he was little and with his dad's amazing detective skills, he had never figured out who had stolen it. Shawn began to get annoyed and angry. They had stolen his penknife… and his letter opener come to think of it. Now how was he meant to open his letters? And break stuff?_

* * *

**.**

**...**

**...**

**...**

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Mrs Andrews came in smiling warmly at him. She glanced around the room and studied the wall with a curious gaze. She didn't seem repulsed as any normal person would have done but instead she just made a mental jot of the way Shawn had organised his room. She noted the draws that were stuffed full of clothes and the clutter of toys before announcing.

"The bell is about to ring for lunch" and Shawn turned his head eagerly. He was really quite hungry and she noticed and smiled at him warmly.

"Come on, I'll show you the cafeteria"

Shawn got up quickly and followed her. He soaked up every detail of his surroundings. It really was quite dingy. The wallpaper was beginning to peel of the wall and it was a mouldy green colour. However the building was safe and deemed fit for living. Plus, donations were made every year which were dependant on how many patients they had and with two additional patients this year, the donations were hopefully going to increase.

Shawn arrived at the lunch hall and looked at all the other patients who were sat there. Shawn was well aware that this couldn't be everyone. There were only about seven people here. Shawn assumed that some people had their lunch at different times so the food didn't run out. That's what happened at Shawn's school… old school. It was the reason why his class had to have packed. Only the lower years were fed from the cafeteria as the food ran out quickly and it was more important to make sure the younger years had a balanced diet and were fed everyday so early development was not stunted. Shawn thought it was stupid to be honest but their parents didn't have to pay for it so they were happy.

Shawn noticed the occasional people in a white uniform handing out pills and turned round to ask about them.

"Mrs Andrews, will I have to have those?" he asked with an obvious tone of disgust in his voice and Shawn noticed Ross recoiling at the sight of them, he looked scared as if they could potentially harm him and Shawn silently vowed not to take them.

Mrs Andrews sighed, feeling that Shawn would never take his pills willingly.

"Not right now" she replied and she realised that Shawn would probably be a hassle. Shawn looked around and noticed that everyone in the room was much older than him and it made him miss Gus already. Shawn wondered if Gus was going to visit him soon but then again, it had only been a day since he had seen him and that didn't count that phone call.

Shawn noticed some of the other's giving him an interesting look, examining the new arrival. Shawn guessed that it had been some time since they had a new person arriving, especially as he was just a kid and he knew that he was the first kid they had ever had as usually, not many children developed mental problems at such a young age. Shawn found himself wishing for another pineapple and when Mrs Andrews gave him a tray with food on, he was very disappointed to see no yellow pieces.

Mrs Andrews noticed his sighing, "What's the matter Shawn?"

Shawn glared at her before looking over her shoulder into the distance. The kitchens were behind her and there was a counter where every patient had their own tray of food, personal to their special diet. Shawn had only just noticed the fruit bowl and a huge pineapple sticking out from behind it.

"Pineapple! In the fruit bowl! Can I have some pineapple?" Shawn pleaded. Mrs Adams turned round to see where Shawn was pointing and looked slightly confused.

_Fruit bowl? _She thought. There was no fruit bowl. Every meal was prepared individually with the individual person in mind. Additional fruit was not provided as it was included on the tray.

"Shawn…." She began.

"I want some of that pineapple" Shawn whined.

"Do you know what a hallucination is Shawn?" she asked, her voice laced with sympathy.

Shawn froze, that word had been bugging him for a while and he was eager to know what it meant. He shook his hurriedly.

"It means that sometimes… you see things that aren't real" Mrs Andrews explained.

Shawn frowned confused. "You're saying the pineapple's not real?"

She nodded, "There is no pineapple, Shawn"

Shawn looked over her shoulder again, his eyes wide.

"How can there be no pineapple?" he shouted, "I can see it! I can SEE IT"` Shawn hit the table with his hand in annoyance before holding it with an obvious pain in his eyes.

"You alright?" she asked concerned, leaning towards Shawn to inspect his hand.

Shawn snapped his head up and gave her a cold look before marching over to the fruit bowl and grabbing the pineapple only for his hand to pass through it. Shawn stared at the spot where the bowl had been only moments ago.

"It's gone" he whispered to himself and Mrs Adams directed him back into his seat calmly.

"Eat up Shawn. Then I'll introduce you to Charlie" she told him.

Shawn looked down at his food, it didn't look as nice as the Chinese he had the other night. Shawn picked up his plastic fork and studied it. Did they not trust him with proper cutlery? He looked around and noticed the others eating with plastic knives and forks as well and every patient was accompanied with a person wearing white and there were several of them walking around the place. Shawn assumed they were the staff.

Shawn stabbed his food and ate it with a vacant expression. Ross was just sat there watching Shawn eat and Shawn looked at him, before offering him some of his food.

Ross looked at him with raised eyebrows. "_No thanks"_

Mrs Andrews looked at him again, "Shawn?" she asked, hoping to snap his attention back.

Shawn looked at her sharply before looking back down at his food. Shawn didn't like the attention which was very rare for him. At school, he loved being the centre of attention as whenever he was home he received none. Shawn was very glad for Ross. Ross had been there for him through thick and thin. He had kept him company most nights when his parents were fighting. He provided the comfort Shawn desperately craved. Shawn met Ross when he was very little and Shawn immediately befriended him. It was even better that he was invisible so no one else could see him and Shawn was so glad that Ross had picked him. It was like his own little guardian angel that had come to save him. From then on, Shawn never once felt alone as Ross had always kept him company.

Shawn finished his food in silence and Mrs Andrews only hoped that he would become more talkative as the days went on as he adapted to the new surroundings. Little did she know that she would come to regret that wish.

Mrs Andrews then took Shawn to see Charlie who they found in one of therapy rooms.

Charlie was dressed in a white uniform and organising some papers on her desk. She was a very young woman and barley looked 18. She was the very definition of inexperienced.

"Shawn, this is Charlie." Mrs Andrews introduced them and Charlie smiled at Shawn. Shawn instantly took a liking to her simply because of her age. She looked like she was the youngest person here and she was very pretty with her hair tied loosely by her ear.

"Charlie, Shawn" she said again.

"Shawn, Charlie is going to be your new carer, it's her job to comfort you and be your friend and take care of you" she explained and Charlie smiled at Shawn again.

"I'll leave you to get acquainted" Mrs Andrews said again, filing in the silence and she walked out of the room shutting the door behind him leaving just Ross, Shawn and Charlie.

"So…my name is Charlie, I've just finished studying mental health at University and I have been paired with you as I am the youngest carer here at the hospital. I like horses, I hate bored games and my friends all think I am crazy for coming to work here. What about you? What can you tell me about the Shawn Spencer?" she asked jokily after she was finished introducing herself.

Shawn regarded her for a moment before answering, thinking he might as well engage in conversation and so moved over to the sofa in the room and stood by it awkwardly.

"Uh….I'm Shawn and this is my best friend Ross. By other best friend Gus is at normal school. I like pineapples, lolly pops and pizza and I don't like anything pointy. My friends also think I'm crazy which is why I am being forced to come here"

She smiled at him again, actually taking an interest in what he was saying that only made Shawn more interested in her.

"So who are Ross and Gus?" she asked keenly, her eyes sparkling.

"Ross is my best friend. I met him when I was really little and he stayed with me when everyone else went away. Gus goes to school with me and he said he would visit and he said that I was crazy cos normal people don't paint their faces green, or set rats in the kitchens or freeze their pet rabbits" Shawn explained, ending on a slightly sad tone.

Charlie pondered this for a moment.

"So why did you paint your face green, set rats in the kitchens or freeze your rabbit" she asked.

"Cos I wanted to" Shawn explained, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Charlie sighed before smiling slightly, trying to connect with Shawn she asked, "Did your face go all itchy after?"

Shawn gaped thinking that she must be psychic., _How did she know?_

_"Maybe she's done it herself" _Ross suggested and Shawn burst into giggles.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Ross said that you know it itches cos you've painted your face before!" Shawn laughed and Charlie laughed for a second alongside Shawn.

"Is Ross here now?" she asked in a near whisper.

Shawn giggled to himself and nodded his head.

"Where? I don't see him" she commented, pretending she was ignorant with a grin.

"He's invisible" Shawn explained with a mysterious vibe and still giggling madly.

"I see." Charlie smiled again giving a knowing look.

"What about Gus? Can he turn invisible too?" she asked, pretending for now that Ross was real as to not upset him. She knew she shouldn't immediately deny his existence as otherwise he would never learn to trust her. It had to be done slowly so he would begin to question his powers and his existence before realising and truly believing that he wasn't real.

Shawn scoffed at her. "NO! Gus doesn't have super powers! He's very smart though, he said he would come visit me soon"

"Oh good. Is your mummy and daddy gonna come too?"

Immediately she could tell that she had hit a sore subject.

"Mummy's gone, she left in the middle of the night and didn't even say goodbye… at least daddy said goodbye when he abandoned me. He said he would visit?" he said almost questioningly.

"Well I hope he does" she told him with sincerity, knowing about his parent's situation from the others but she wanted to know his opinion on the matter.

"so what sorts of things does Ross say?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Huh?" he asked confused.

"Does he ever tell you to do stuff you don't want to?" she asked soothingly, wanting to know whether this 'person' could be a danger to Shawn.

"_I think she thinks I could be a danger to you?" _Ross clarified and Charlie sensed Ross was talking now.

"He tells me the truth." Shawn explained, "He's my friend. He stays with me when everyone else goes away. He even stayed with me every night when mummy and daddy were shouting at each other all night. He covered my ears and talked to me to block out the noise"

"What does he tell you the truth about?" she asked again

"Uh... He told me not to eat the blue fuzzy bread that my dad gave me cos it would kill me. He said that my daddy won't visit me…" Shawn admitted glumly.

Charlie paused; this was both good and bad. It sounded as if this identity was in a way protecting Shawn from danger however it was also taking advantage of his insecurities without Shawn noticing.

"I'm not going anywhere Shawn. You're stuck with me" she smiled, "Your daddy won't be allowed to visit for a few weeks anyway Shawn. You have to settle in here first"

"I'll give you the tour shall I?" she suggested changing the subject again.

Shawn smiled, "Yeah ok"

* * *

.

...

...

...

Later that night, Shawn was lying in bed still awake troubled after the whole day and the challenges it had presented him. He really liked Charlie, she was nice. She wanted to talk to him and looked genuinely interested in his responses which had never happened before. Shawn knew that Mrs Andrews and Miss Jones were just doing their jobs but Charlie was different. In a way she had just been dumped with him. She had the option to just leave is she wanted and she could go back to University. She was new at this and so was Shawn.

Suddenly Shawn heard noise outside and he sat up with nerves, clinging to the bed sheet.

_Did I imagine that? _Shawn thought before Ross sat up beside him with a panicked look in his face.

"_I heard that too" _Ross told him and they both crept to the door. Shawn attempted to open it but discovered himself to be locked on.

Shawn groaned in annoyance and stomped his feet a few time before he was hushed by Ross.

"_Listen" _Ross told him and Shawn pressed his ear to the door.

"It's that new woman being moved here" Shawn realised.

"_Go back to sleep then Shawn" _Ross told him tiredly and Shawn was only too happy to obey.

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**Thanks for reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know your theories and what you thought on this chapter. What do you think of Charlie?**


	8. Absense

**Author note: Hey Guys! I did my A level exam today and this chapter is me celebrating! Go me! You can tell me how fabulous I am down in the comments. If you can't tell, I am very excited that it is over!**

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Previously:

Later that night, Shawn was lying in bed still awake troubled after the whole day and the challenges it had presented him. He really liked Charlie, she was nice. She wanted to talk to him and looked genuinely interested in his responses which had never happened before. Shawn knew that Mrs Andrews and Miss Jones were just doing their jobs but Charlie was different. In a way she had just been dumped with him. She had the option to just leave is she wanted and she could go back to University. She was new at this and so was Shawn.

Suddenly Shawn heard noise outside and he sat up with nerves, clinging to the bed sheet.

_Did I imagine that? _Shawn thought before Ross sat up beside him with a panicked look in his face.

"_I heard that too" _Ross told him and they both crept to the door. Shawn attempted to open it but discovered himself to be locked on.

Shawn groaned in annoyance and stomped his feet a few time before he was hushed by Ross.

"_Listen" _Ross told him and Shawn pressed his ear to the door.

"It's that new woman being moved here" Shawn realised.

"_Go back to sleep then Shawn" _Ross told him tiredly and Shawn was only too happy to obey.

* * *

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...

...

...

Shawn spent the next day playing with Ross. Charlie accompanied him everywhere. At first Shawn found it rather annoying but then Shawn started to see it in a different way, it was like he had his own personal body guard which Shawn thought was rather cool. Although after a few hours of being followed, before he reached the previous conclusion, Shawn managed to escape. Being of small build, Shawn managed to slip away fairly easily. Shawn knew where he wanted to explore and Ross was with him every step of the way and he managed to slip into the room down the corridor from his own where the new arrival had been placed.

"Hello?" Shawn whispered timidly, his voice though was quivering in excitement.

"Hello" a woman greeted him and she closed the door to her wardrobe.

"I..Umm. I'm Shawn and this… is Ross" he smiled a little bit scared at the woman. The woman had dark brown hair that was curled softly and Shawn thought she looked very pretty and nice. She looked a lot like Charlie and Shawn guessed that they could be related. She frowned momentarily before responding,

"and I'm Jessica" she greeted, "Are you lost? Should you be visiting someone?"

Shawn shook his head while holding back a small smile by biting his lip.

"I'm a patient here too. I live in the room along there" he said making a pointing gesture.

Jessica looked shocked for a moment but was quick to conceal it.

"Where are your parents?" she asked concerned.

"Mummy left us and daddy left me here. He's a cop" Shawn boasted, trying to lift the mood after revealing that both his parents left him.

"Oh you poor thing" Jessica cried and rushed over to give him a hug. "I'd never leave you, your adorable" she whispered while holding his head and stroking his hair.

Shawn tensed at first but then found the gesture to be soothing, this wasn't how his dad did it and he had to say, it was nice. Shawn relaxed into her embrace and looked up at her.

"You're very pretty" he whispered and she let out a small laugh.

"Thank you,!" she joked laughing and Shawn smiled.

"SHAWN!" Charlie yelled through the door and she opened it with a slam. Shawn sat up and froze, was he in trouble?

Charlie spotted him and stopped yelling, instead of going into a huge rant of saying never run away again she calmly asked Shawn to come with her.

"I'll come see you again Jessica" Shawn promised as he left and Jessica smiled back,

"I'll visit you too"

Charlie acknowledged the relationship they seemed to have built and walked with Shawn back to his room.

"Shawn…" Charlie began and Shawn immediately avoided eye contact, not wanting to be in trouble or shouted at.

"You really scared me!" she said before embracing him in a hug. Shawn blinked shocked before slowly returning the hug.

"In a place like this Shawn, you have to be careful. You go nowhere without me. I am your own personal body guard to protect you from bad guys. And sometimes people in this place go bad and want to hurt others and it's not safe to go off on your own. Do you understand?"

Shawn nodded. "Sorry" he murmured.

"That's ok" she responded quietly.

Charlie knew that Shawn would be her patient for the long term. Being someone's carer didn't just mean she took care of him, She was also in charge of doing therapy sessions with him once a day in one of the therapy rooms that had to be done there as the rooms were recorded. Another way to track their progress. She would also weigh Shawn every couple of weeks and make sure Shawn exercised enough. Charlie knew that if she wanted this to work long term she had to become a replacement parental figure. She had to forgive Shawn and make it so when she wanted something Shawn would be kind and do it for her. Shawn arriving when he was eight allowed a lot of opportunity for this to happen as she knew that not many patients were ever released from this place. The pills helped but with old age comes forgetfulness and usually by the time they developed this mental afflictions they weren't responsible enough to take their own pills. Charlie knew that Shawn was going to be tricky. Charlie had made her first diagnosis by now and it was just a matter of trial. See what drugs worked and what didn't. Charlie knew that hearing voices was a sign of schizophrenia and some of his hallucinations were commanded and Charlie wasn't sure if he was able to resist. Charlie decided to take the smart option at the beginning and decided to slip the pills into his food and crush them in the potato or whatever it was. Shawn never commented on the taste and the results were noticed by all , especially Charlie in the therapy sessions.

* * *

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...

...

...

Shawn began to notice the effects of the pills and he felt confused and felt as if his world was falling apart and he went crying to Jessica. He felt as he had been abandoned.

"Shawn? Hunny, what's wrong?" she asked coming over and allowing Shawn to sit in her lap.

"He's left me!" Shawn wept, letting his tears roll down his face freely.

"Who has darling?" she cooed, stroking his hair softley.

"Ross! I haven't seen him all day!"

She looked surprised and Daniel also looked shocked. Daniel was Jessica's carer and he was sat in the room with her and watching the scene with surprise. He knew Shawn wasn't meant to be here and knew he should step outside and call for Charlie but he couldn't take his eyes off the scene. For once his patient was acting her own gender!

Jessica was twenty years old and she had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. Unfortunately her most dominate personality was her alter called Jess who was male. It seemed by the sheer presence of a child, Shawn, she had reverted back to Jessica to take care of him as her motherly instincts took over. Charlie knocked on the door moments later and entered quietly. Shawn was too busy sobbing his heart out to notice and Jessica was busy comforting him. David was sat there watching.

"Hey, you've got Jessica back again!" Charlie whispered to David, realising how huge this was for her and for him.

"Second time it's happened I think. Shawn is the only child here and Jessica seems to love him loads" David responded and they gave each other a look.

"It's ok Shawn" Jessica hushed with hugging him tighter.

"You know…"Daniel started and Charlie leant in to hear him whisper, "I think I would be very beneficial for these two to spend time together. Shawn really seems to relax around her and trusts her and Jessica is herself again"

Charlie nodded, "I agree"

Shawn continued to sob quietly and it took all of his strength away. And soon he fell asleep in her arms.

Jessica noticed this and held him for a few moments more before gesturing to his carer Charlie. Charlie nodded and whispered a thanks but Jessica just smiled and looked down at Shawn's cute face adoringly. Charlie scooped Shawn up in her arms and carried him to his bed. Shawn slept soundly for a few moments before stirring again,

"I'm gonna be sick" Shawn moaned and immediately Charlie helped him over to the toilet and rubbed Shawn's back as he vomited violently. Shawn moaned as Charlie wiped his mouth with a bit of toilet roll and led him back to bed.

Charlie stayed with Shawn for about twenty minutes as he rested peacefully in his bed sleeping before leaving him to sleep and locked the door so he didn't sleepwalk or decided he wanted to explore in the middle of the night.

* * *

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...

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...

Shawn woke early the next morning and felt really hungry. He sat up as he felt his stomach rumble and looked down.

"_I guess you're hungry" _Ross commented with a smile.

"Ross!" Shawn gasped in excitement. "Where have you been?"

Ross looked down guiltily. "_I didn't mean to leave you Shawn. I couldn't help it_"

"You've never left me ever!" Shawn complained, "Why now?"

Ross had never left Shawn before and Shawn felt abandoned and looked his friend with a look of betrayal.

"_You're friend Charlie" _he spat cruel fully, "_She is spiking your food and it's starting to block your vision of me"_

Shawn frowned confused.

"Huh?"

"_I always told you that you were special, that you have the power to see me when everyone else can't?"_

"Yeah…" Shawn agreed.

"_Charlie is putting something in your food that is blocking me"_ Ross admitted.

Shawn looked dubious at him.

"_Look, don't eat it and you'll see me. The only reason you can see me now is because you threw up last night and got it all out of your system" _Ross explained.

"So that's why they're not making me take pills!" Shawn realised.

"_Exactly" _Ross told him and Shawn immediately withdrew angry.

How dare they slip him drugs?

The door swung open minutes later and Charlie greeted him with her usual greeting.

"Morning sleepy head" she grinned and immediately she noticed something was wrong from his vacant staring at her.

"You alright? You still feel sick?" she asked in concern but Shawn just stared at her.

Charlie sighed, Shawn was in stare mode. Charlie noticed that Shawn did this sometimes. When his emotions were too much to handle or he learnt something he didn't want to believe he went into this state where he stayed silent and glared at everyone like they were the enemy. During these times, Charlie would try and draw him out of his shell but nothing ever worked, not even lollypops. They would make him grab it and hold it protectively and he would eat it while the whole time live in fear of it being stolen away from him.

"I'll get you some breakfast" she sighed as she left the room, locking it behind her.

Charlie needn't have locked the door as Shawn couldn't move. He was too busy thinking about what happened. When Charlie returned with his breakfast, his eyes flickered briefly to Ross before staring at the meal. He wasn't going to eat it. No way.

Charlie sighed and resorted to trying to spoon feed him.

"Come on Shawn, you've gotta eat something"

Shawn stared at her and briefly shook his head while folding his arms.

Charlie then realised that Shawn hadn't retreated as far back as she thought. He was still aware of his surroundings. Charlie wasn't sure what to do and so decided to leave his cereal on the surface next to his bed and she slipped out of the room again, once again locking it behind her thinking that when Shawn got hungry enough he would eat.

Shawn glanced at the food sparingly. He was really hungry.

"_Don't eat it Shawn" _Ross warned.

"I'm hungry" Shawn moaned quietly to himself.

"_It's up to you Shawn. But if you continue eating, you'll never see me again"_

Shawn gasped and immediately discarded the thought of eating.

"I won't!" Shawn promised. "You'll stay with me forever! You're my best friend. I won't let them give me any pills"

Ross smiled and gave him a hug. "_Thanks Shawn. I don't know what I would do without you. You're my best and only friend"_

Shawn smiled sadly as he realised that was true. Shawn was special and he knew it. Shawn knew he had the power to see Ross and what would he do without him? If he let these people take away his gift, Ross would be all alone just like he was. Shawn knew how terrible abandonment was and swore not to let them take his sight. He didn't want to abandon Ross and he would make sure.

"You're my best friend too" Shawn smiled.

They paused for a moment in silence and Shawn examined the cereal searching for a pill.

"I can't see a pill" he remarked to Ross who was quick to explain his own theory.

"_I reckon they crushed it, or dissolved it in the milk. Be carefully what you drink too. They could slip it in there"_

Shawn nodded, seeing the truth in his statement. Ross had never lied to him before and was usually right. Shawn had doubted him for a moment when he declared that his dad tried to kill him but he hadn't visited him yet and it had been a few days already.

"What should I do with it?" Shawn asked Ross. He couldn't just leave it there. Could he? They might force him to eat it.

Ross seemed to see his point and scratched his head , thinking. Ross walked over to the window and attempted to open it.

"_The windows won't open" _Ross remarked. "_Maybe you should just put it in the wardrobe?"_

Shawn grinned, that would work. He listened quiet fully for a few seconds before deciding it was safe to move. He then poured his cereal into the bottom of the wardrobe. The base was wooden and was much like the bottom of a shower without the plug. Shawn knew that it wouldn't soak through and ruin the floor for a while at least and Shawn shut the door triumphant.

Shawn entertained himself by talking to Ross all morning and Charlie was watching the monitor with the camera footage from her office. It was required that all rooms were fit with a camera. It wasn't the best quality picture but the sound was clear.

Charlie watched as he poured his cereal away with disappointment and annoyance. It looked like he had finally figure it out. To be honest, she thought it would have taken longer. Charlie peered at the screen again and zoomed in on Shawn's pixelated face. He was talking to someone and so she turned on the sound.

Charlie sighed that meant Ross was back.

She listened to their conversation briefly before Shawn started screaming. She jumped and studied the screen, what was Shawn screaming about.

"SNAKE!" Shawn yelled as he thumped on the door. Tears were beginning to stream down his face and he turned his back towards the door in fear.

Charlie took off running. She arrived at his room not two minutes later and opened the door for him and Shawn ran out and hid behind her.

She closed the door after and picked Shawn up giving him a huge hug.

"It's ok darling" she reassured him as she carried him back to her office. Therapy room one. It multiroled as her office as that was where she kept all the files and things needed to treat Shawn and the room had a sofa in the corner.

She set Shawn down on the sofa but he wouldn't let go. He was still upset and was clinging to her desperately. Ross was sat next to him, trying to comfort and reassure him but Shawn wasn't aware.

Five minutes later, Shawn was calm.

"What happened Shawn? Did you see a snake?"

Shawn nodded tearfully.

"Miss Jones explained to you that you get hallucinations sometimes didn't she, things that aren't really there?"

Shawn looked wide eyed at her and nodded.

"Is what the snake was?" Shawn sobbed and Charlie nodded.

"It wasn't real. Ok?"

"Ok" Shawn sobbed.

"_It's ok Shawn" _Ross comforted him.

Shawn tried to pull himself together and wiped the tears from his eyes and Charlie grabbed him a tissue off of her desk.

Shawn took is solemnly as he wiped his eyes clear of tears.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" she asked quietly.

Shawn looked up at her but was distracted by Ross.

"_She knows" _he realised and Shawn's eyes widened.

"You're poisoning my food!" Shawn accused her and he was really surprised when she didn't try to deny it.

Instead she took a deep breath and began to explain.

"Every person here is like a patient in a hospital. And everybody needs to take pills to get better. I put them in your food so you didn't have to try and swallow them. I also didn't want you to know you were taking them because I wanted to know if you feel the difference." She explained.

Shawn blinked up at her. At least she had admitted it and replied honestly.

"You're not going to deny it?" he asked confused and a little bit angry.

"Of course not. I said I would never lie to you Shawn and I meant it. I only want to help you Shawn."

Shawn realised the truth to that statement. She had never lied to him and Charlie was his friend.

Charlie took another deep breath; it was time to reveal all.

"Shawn, these drugs I was giving you are designed to stop the hallucinations-"

"It didn't stop me from seeing the snake!" Shawn shouted at her and she nodded her head seriously.

"That's because they wore off. You didn't eat your breakfast" she explained and Shawn thought back to his breakfast, currently going bad in his wardrobe.

"And you threw up last night" she reminded him gently.

"Those pills made Ross go away" Shawn told her, no longer angry but instead revealing what had happened.

"I gathered" she told him, remembering how he had broken down to another patient, Jessica.

"Ross is my friend. I don't want him to go away" Shawn revealed sadly.

"Oh Shawn…" Charlie sighed.

"I won't eat any pills!" he said frantically, "even if it means not eating anything. Ross has always been there for me and I won't let him down!"

Charlie didn't react and just nodded calmly.

"I'll stop putting the pills in your food Shawn. But you still have to take them and I will tell you why" she paused, "You were lonely when you were little and your mind created Ross. You know how we talked about things that aren't really there? Hallucinations? Well, Ross is a hallucination; no one else can see him."

"He IS TOO REAL!" Shawn complained folding his arms and looking at Ross before poking him.

"_Hey!" _Ross complained.

"See!" Shawn proved it.

"Then why did Ross disappear when you took the pills?" Charlie asked calmly.

Shawn froze before remembering what Ross had told him.

"Cos it takes away my gift of sight. I am special, I am the only one who sees him and when I take the pills it blocks my sight" Shawn explained.

"Did he tell you that?" she asked.

"He's never lied to me before?"

"I'm not going to judge whether Ross is real or not as he is obviously very real to you. But answer this; have you ever seen him eat? Drink? Walk through something? Why is it that only you can see him?"

Shawn thought for a few moments. He never had seen him eat or drink. Sometimes he appeared out of nowhere whenever he felt really lonely.

"Sometimes…" Shawn said aloud.

"He always appears when your lonely, doesn't he?" Charlie said and Shawn nodded eyes wide and scared.

"Is he here now?" Charlie asked and Shawn nodded again.

"_Shawn…. Don't listen to her. I'm your friend" _Ross reminded him and Shawn registered this in his mind.

"Then why don't you ever eat or drink? I always offer but you never accept. Normal people have to eat, I learnt that from Miss Pomme" Shawn moaned and Charlie realised that he was talking to Ross and took a step backwards.

"_Shawn. Why do you doubt me? Does it matter if I'm real or not? I'm your friend and you promised never to abandon me"_

Shawn began to panic and hyperventilate. "So you're not real?" he questioned as he walked towards him. Ross walked towards him and held out a hand and Shawn held out his. Charlie watched the whole time, holding her breathe and hoping for the breakthrough she had been wanting.

Shawn reached out with uncertainty and hated the look in Ross' eyes. He looked pained. Shawn raised his hand and it passed straight through Ross'. Shawn leapt back in shock.

"He's gone!" Shawn remarked in shock and Charlie stood up and walked towards Shawn, through the space where Ross had just been standing.

"Shawn….when you know something is a hallucination, it will vanish when you touch it because it's not really there" Charlie explained. She didn't bother to mention that it only happened in some cases but she knew that if Shan believed her, his mind would make it real enough and so if Shawn believed it would disappear, it would.

"He's left me" Shawn said and Charlie blinked.

"He's not real Shawn. He's a figment of your imagination. It's why it's so important for you to take these pills" Charlie explained.

"It doesn't matter if he's not real" Shawn told himself, "He's always been real to me"

"_You mean it Shawn?" _Ross asked who had suddenly appeared and stepped out from behind Charlie.

"Of course I do. You've been my best friend for years" Shawn told him.

Charlie sighed. Ross was back, that didn't take long.

Charlie smiled to herself. Although Shawn hadn't made the breakthrough she wanted, he did make a breakthrough. He now knew that Ross wasn't real however Charlie knew it was going to be hard to get him to take his pills every day. She wouldn't put them in his food anymore, she knew that it would be betraying his trust and also he would develop a phobia of eating not wanting to lose his best friend.

Charlie knew what her next step was. Shawn had mentioned in several other therapy sessions about his other best friend Gus. Shawn hadn't mentioned that Gus was here to so the chances were that Gus was a real person from his old school and all she had to do was get him here.

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**Author note: Thanks for reading guys! It means a lot! Loving writing this story and it is such a big distraction to my A Levels. Was happy at finishing English... but now I have my theatre studies coming up... GAH! Gotta prepare!**


	9. Support

**Author note: Hey guys! How are you! I bring a gift of a long chapter. Only been 5 days since i last updated! shocking I know!**

**Please read and review! ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Psych**

* * *

While Shawn slept that night, Charlie retired to her office to make the necessary phone calls. Firstly she called the Guster's and arranged a meeting with their son. At first they were reluctant but relented after their son's protests and assured her that they would come down the next day. When visitors came, they had a special room where they all sat; the room was under surveillance at all times and recorded the interactions made with the outside world. Charlie then thought about ringing Henry Spencer.

Charlie was well aware of Shawn's abandonment issues, which is why Ross had been brought back so quickly and although it was a little soon she decided to call him in the hope that he would rush over and visit his son, to reassure him that he still cared.

However this conversation didn't go as smoothly. In fact, there was no conversation.

She rang the house and there was no answer, so she left a message asking him to ring her back. She thought about ringing the police to get direct contact with him as she guessed the reason why he wasn't at home was that he was still at the station. But she decided against it. It wasn't an emergency and you weren't meant to use that line unless it was an emergency so Charlie decided that she would wait for Henry to get back to her. Little did she know she would be waiting a long time.

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The next day Shawn explored a lot more than he thought he would. He ate his breakfast after watching it being made so ensure it didn't have pills in it and Charlie decided to wait a few days for him to deal with the knowledge of knowing Ross wasn't real but telling him that he would have to take them again. Shawn was thankful that he didn't have to take the pills for a few days, Charlie had said to him that she would delay for a few days but he would have to take them again in a couple of days, Shawn was just thankful that he didn't have to take them for a while. As soon as they started to make him, Shawn would resist until the very end. Shawn now knew that these pills made Ross go away, that Ross was a hallucination and part of his imagination but Ross had always been there for Shawn and Shawn had no intention of deserting him now.

Charlie needed to know if she could trust Shawn and started allowing him to go places by himself. Tests, to see whether he would get into trouble. Shawn was pleased when he found his door unlocked and deciding not to get changed, he slipped on his dressing gown and slippers and made his way downstairs to get his breakfast. For once he had actually gotten down at the same time as some of the other patients and so Shawn got to eat with them. He could easily tell who were thwe patients as every patient was made to wear a bracelet with their name on showing they were patients and a white robe. Shawn knew he would get another soon, he was growing taler every day. He grabbed his tray of the side of the room and peered at its contents for a moment.

"_Do you reckon she still spiked it?" _Ross asked, peering at the tray.

Shawn frowned, she said she wouldn't so… "Well I guess we'll find out. If you disappear we know she did" he reasoned before tucking into his food. Suddenly someone nudged is arm and Shawn jolted.

"Sorry son" an old man spoke.

Shawn turned round to look at him.

He was an old guy who looked like he was in his seventies and he had trouble walking in a straight line.

"Don't call me son" Shawn resorted angrily. He wasn't his father!

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Joe and you are…" he responded.

"I'm Shawn and this is Ross" Shawn explained, Joe smiled and held out a hand and Shawn awkwardly bumped it. The man laughed and returned the fist bump. Ross smiled and waved too but it went unnoticed.

"So what you doing here for?" Joe asked before staring at his fork absently.

Shawn frowned at the question. He didn't have a diagnosis yet, did he?

"Charlie, my carer said something about…. Seeing things that aren't there. There was a huge snake in my room yesterday" Shawn remembered shivering and Ross grimaced too, remembering what Shawn's reaction had been.

"Snake? That it? I had a dinosaur once!" the man laughed.

Shawn's eyes widened. "You saw a dinosaur?" he asked in fascination.

Joe laughed when he saw he had caught Shawn's attention.

"Yeah, I was almost eaten alive. I welcome these pills now. They stop the scary things" he explained and Shawn looked down.

"The pills I took made Ross disappear" Shawn told him sadly.

"Who's Ross?" Joe quizzed, thinking the name sounded familiar.

"He's my best friend" Shawn told him beaming before smiling at Ross who smiled back and nodding as if to see, you know that's right.

"I had a friend once called Dave. He said he was my friend but he turned really mean. He told me things that weren't true, he lied and tormented me. Listen, you may think Ross is great now kid but just you wait. He won't want you to get better; he'll want you to keep seeing those scary snakes and other scary things cos he won't wanna go"

Shawn stared at him, not daring to look at Ross.

"Shawn!" a voice called, it was Charlie.

"Ah… I see you've met Joe" Charlie smiled and they both stared at her.

"What? Bad timing?" she guessed with a dawning expression on her face and Joe nodded and looked back at Shawn who was still staring in shock and a slight expression of panic, his eyes fully showing his inner turmoil.

"Come on Shawn" she gestured quietly, mouthing a silent thank you to Joe who shrugged before continuing to eat.

Shawn followed obediently in complete shock. He wasn't completely aware of where he was going but just let Charlie's arm guide him.

In the therapy room, she guided Shawn to the sofa.

"What happened Shawn?" she asked.

Shawn continued to stare blankly but on mention of his name his eyes flickered towards her panicky.

"Come on Shawn" she gestured and Shawn focused on her and swallowed.

"He… he said. About Dave being mean. And that Ross doesn't want me to get better… wants me to see the snakes and the dinosaurs!" Shawn whispered.

Charlie knew nothing about Joe's old imaginary friend Dave and hoped Shawn hadn't been seeing another guy called Dave.

"Who's Dave?" she asked, taking this one step at a time.

"Joe's friend but not real…like Ross" Shawn explained.

Charlie nodded. "Shawn, you know now that Ross isn't real, he is only as real as you make him. Part of you doesn't want him to leave ever, he is a big part of your life and I know you don't want him to go. He won't want to go either. But the reason you saw scary things like the snake is because he is still here. If you take these pills it will get rid of all things that aren't really there. Including Ross"

"So Ross wants me to see more snakes and dinosaurs so I don't get rid of him?" Shawn asked, wanting to make sure he got it right.

Charlie nodded.

"You don't want Ross to go because he's your friend but you can have more than one friend and I can prove it!" she said with a grin and Shawn looked at her with anticipation. Shawn could tell that she had organised something. Not waiting for her to say anything, Shawn glanced at her desk behind her and spotted numbers on a post it note that he recognised.

"You rang Gus? He's coming to visit today isn't he?" Shawn guessed grinning.

Charlie briefly looked surprise at how quickly he got it and smiled whilst nodding.

"He should arrive any minute" she announced looking at her watch.

Shawn grinned before realising hose the other number was that was on the post it note.

"My Dad's not coming though is he" Shawn said quietly.

Charlie looked conflicted and paused before answering.

"I'll be honest with you Shawn. I called him yes but didn't get through so I left a message asking him to call me. Next time he's home he'll get back to me" she explained.

_"Yeah right. Your dad won't come" _Ross scoffed and Shawn turned her head sharply meaning Charlie knew Ross had spoken.

"What did he say?" Charlie asked.

Shawn sighed, "That my dad won't come. He's right though. My dad would never come here. I've heard him talking about this place in the past, saying that everyone is a whole load of nutters. Apparently loads of people plead mental insanity to get out of going to jail."

Charlie's narrowed her eyes. "No one here is a nutter Shawn. Everyone here is genuinely ill. Someone can plead mental insanity but after a couple of days we would know, no one can keep up an act forever"

"Yeah, but he's still never gonna come. He ignored me completely for the past two years; he was only acting nice cos he felt guilty that I was gonna come here" Shawn explained, fiddling with his hands in his lap.

Charlie thought for a moment of how to respond. "I'm sure he was only trying to do what is best for you. Your father is a very busy man, he is a cop. He puts bad guy in prison"

"Yeah well my mom left. She's a psychologist and she always thought I was a freak" Shawn continued sadly.

"You are not a freak Shawn." Charlie reassured him.

"Yeah right" Shawn scoffed, "So where's Gus?" he asked perkily.

Charlie looked surprise at the sudden change in emotion but stood up and began to lead the way anyway. Charlie led him to a square room that looked a lot like a prison cell. It had a rectangular shaped table in the middle and four chairs, two on either side. Shawn noticed the one way mirror and the lone chair, knowing that Charlie was going to be sat watching them annoyed Shawn immensely. Through the one way mirror, Shawn saw that he could see Gus sat there in one of the chairs with his mother sat next to him. Gus looked adamant on staying but any idiot could tell that Mrs Guster looked very uncomfortable with her current surroundings.

_"He actually came" _Ross stated smiling at Shawn. Shawn grinned at him before entering the room.

"Shawn!" Gus cried as he got up to hug his best friend. Shawn grinned and Mrs Guster immediately softened towards him.

"Gus!" he yelled.

"I've missed you!" Shawn admitted shyly.

"Me too. You know they did the rocket thing the other day. It's weird without you though" Gus admitted.

"They did it without me!" Shawn moaned.

"Well you did kind of freaked everyone out. You just stood there and acted all weird" Gus explained remembering.

"I'm sure he couldn't help it Burton" his mother patted him on the shoulder, hoping that her son's words didn't offend him.

"All the people here do some weird stuff too, its sooo creepy" Shawn explained. "Like everyone gets a carer and my carer is watching right now through that mirror"

"But it's a mirror Shawn. You can't see through a mirror" Gus told him in a matter of fact voice and Shawn looked at him annoyed.

"Darling it's called a one way mirror, where you can see through it one way but not the other" Mrs Guster explained.

"That's so cool" Gus gushed and Shawn looked at him in annoyance.

"It's making me paranoid" Shawn admitted looking over his shoulder before grinning, "Yeah I know big words now!" he boasted.

"I still know bigger words than you Shawn! I'm entering the Spelling Bee this year" Gus boasted and Shawn looked shocked.

"Really?" Shawn quizzed.

"_He's gonna get picked on so much for being a geek" _Ross inserted and Shawn glanced at him.

"Do you really think so?" Shawn asked him and Gus and his mother looked at each other briefly in concern.

"_Of course. You know how it is in school, Gus starts going round talking with big words and bully's pick on him. You're not there to stick up for him anymore" _Ross explained.

"Don't do it" Shawn told him and they both looked at him confused.

"Why not?" Mrs Guster asked concerned for him.

"You'll get bullied!" Shawn explained and Mrs Guster understood his reasoning now.

"I might not win. But it'll prove I'm smarter that the other guys" Gus told him boastfully and Shawn frowned annoyed.

"You've always been a geek!" Shawn told him. Mrs Guster was eager to change the topic of the conversation. She didn't want Shawn to persuade her son that entering 'The Spelling Bee'. She had aways known that her son was very smart and she didn't want Shawn to persuade him not to enter as she knew her son had the talent to win.

"So how is it here, Shawn?" she asked with curiosity, examining Shawn's state. He looked better than she had seen him before. No longer were there the dark rings underneath his eyes and his t-shirts weren't covered in creases. It looked as if Shawn had brushed his hair that morning as he didn't look like he had just gotten out of bed which was strange as it was a Saturday and no kid usually gets up on a Saturday morning. Shawn had been in that place for a couple of weeks now. Mrs Guster noted how Shawn had filled out a little, now he was finally being fed properly.

Shawn shrugged.

"It's Ok. It's a bit dark and gloomy and I'm the only kid so it's a bit lonely sometimes but the other people are great! Especially a woman called Jessica. She's really nice and tells me stories sometimes" he told her shyly and Mrs Guster smiled back.

"Well, Gus here will visit you all the time" Mrs Guster told him and Shawn grinned.

"He said he would, didn't you" Shawn said and Gus nodded.

"You're my friend" Gus said smiling, "My best friend. I'm never gonna leave you!" Gus promised and Mrs Guster couldn't identify the look on Shawn's face at that particular statement. It seemed to have struck a chord.

"Oh God, Shawn, I'm sorry" Mrs Guster apologised, "I heard about your dad, Gus didn't mean to—" Mrs Guster struggled as she tried to figure out what to say.

Shawn stared at her blankly. "It's not your fault that he left me here" Shawn stated and Gus watched them converse confused.

"No, I mean that he transferred. He's in Miami after a job opening came up and he immediately transferred." Mrs Guster explained but as she did, she realised that Shawn obviously didn't know.

"Oh... I'm sorry Shawn"

"He's in Miami?" Shawn asked quietly.

Mrs Guster smiled comfortingly.

"It doesn't matter" Shawn told her, "I knew he wouldn't want to visit me anyway" Shawn laughed, trying to pull it off as a joke, that he didn't really care but inside his heart was crying. But then again, Shawn wasn't really expecting his dad to visit him. Henry hated this place and Shawn knew that he was ashamed to have a son who needed to be here. Shawn knew that his dad didn't really care about him; for one magical day he did but Shawn knew that was only because he felt guilty he was going to dump him in this place.

"Does Ross like it here too?" Gus asked, knowing about Shawn's other friend.

Shawn shook his head, "It's weird. They made me take these pills and Ross left me too. He came back after I was ill and I haven't eaten any pills all day. I learnt something you know and Ross admitted it, he's not real" Shawn whispered loudly so it echoed through the room.

"What do you mean?" Gus asked back confused.

Shawn glanced behind him at the mirror before whispering again "I always thought I had the special power to see Ross. Turns out he's just someone my brain cooked up"

Gus looked at Shawn in shock and Mrs Guster just stared at Shawn in fascination of Shawn's friend Ross. Mrs Guster had heard about Ross before but she automatically assumed that Ross was someone that they played with at school.

"So you don't have super powers?" Gus asked confused.

Shawn shrugged and shook his head. "Nope" he said, popping the 'p'. "Turns out I am just a mental case" he laughed bitterly and Mrs Guster blinked, not realising how hard it would be to spend time with the two boys and wondered how she was going to do this regularly.

"Well, I am afraid that we have to get going" Mrs Guster announced, looking at her watch. "I have to get Gus home for lunch"

Shawn looked disappointed, "You'll come and visit me soon?" Shawn asked meekly and Gus nodded with absolute certainty.

"Definitely" Gus promised,

"No ifs and or buts about it, yeah" Shawn commented smiling.

"You know that's right" Gus said giving him a fist bump which Shawn bumped easily and Mrs Guster smiled at their interactions. Her husband may not agree but she valued their friendship. Gus wasn't a very social person by nature and she had seen them playing together and noticed how Shawn made him happy, how Shawn really brought Gus out of his shell. Before those two had met he still went by the name Burton for God's sake! She was glad he had a nickname now, helped him fit in better. It was her husband that chose the name, after his father. She hadn't cared at the time, didn't care what he was called. She would love him anyway and the she was a big believer in tradition.

"Bye Shawn" Gus said and gave him a hug. Shawn returned the hug enthusiastically before he watched them both leave. He waved to Gus as he left through the door and Charlie entered through the opposite door in time to say goodbye and say thank you.

Mrs Guster nodded as if to say 'no trouble, see you next time'. Gus waved back enthusiastically too before his mother grabbed his hand and dragged him out, otherwise she was sure they would be there for the rest of the day saying goodbye. She knew her son was like that. He hated to say goodbye.

Shawn turned around to Charlie and said, "My dad's never gonna come is here, is he?" he asked completely miserable.

Charlie sighed and motioned for Shawn to sit down which he did and Charlie took the seat next to him.

"Shawn… I said I would never lie to you and I won't. I tried to ring your dad and I left a message. I had no idea that he had gone to Miami" she paused and seeing Shawn with tears in his eyes gave him a big hug. "Your dad does have our number and will call when he's ready."

"I hate him" Shawn muttered bitterly. Charlie stayed silently and waited for Shawn to explain his frustration. She knew that Shawn needed to vent his anger.

"He used to take me for bike rides you know" Shawn started and Charlie shifted slightly to make sure the camera in the room was on him.

"And take me fishing and I got to gut the fish too! He didn't seem to care I was only little, only that he was an 'Officer of the law!' and could protect me! But then he got that promotion he always talks about and he forgot all about me. Forgot! For TWO WHOLE YEARS I WAS ALONE! HE LEFT ME! HE COMES BACK INTO MY LIFE FOR TWO DAYS AND THEN DECIDES TO DUMP ME OFF HERE! WITH A LOAD OF OTHER NUTTERS BECAUSE HIS GREAT DETECTIVE SKILLS NEVER SPOTTED THAT HE HAD A MENTAL CASE SON!"

"_Shawn! Calm down! Who cares if your dad left? He's never really been there for you anyway!" _Ross interrupted.

Shawn paused as Ross spoke before laughing bitterly.

"Your right Ross. Why should I care! He's never been there for me before so why should he now?"

"Shawn…" Charlie started but Shawn interrupted her.

"-DON'T LIE TO ME. HE SAID HE WOULD VISIT ME. HE KNELT DOWN AND PROMISED ME HE WOULD!" Shawn shouted and Charlie tried not to react.

"I won't lie and say he's coming to visit you when he might not Shawn. I'll try and get in contact with him and get him to come but I'm gonna say something to you now and I want you to listen"

Shawn looked up.

"You do not need your dad's approval for anything. You are your own person and you don't need him. You've got me… and Jessica. To be honest it doesn't sound like your dad has been a very good dad to you. As soon as I can, we'll get bikes and I'll go on bike rides with you. Your mum and dad may have left you but Gus, me and Jessica. We're going nowhere!" she assured him and the tears that had been building up in Shawn's eyes were immediately released and he clung to Charlie tightly. Hugging her so tightly she believed that he might not ever let go.

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**Author note: Awww... what an emotional ending. Shawn finding out his dad had moved to Miami without a word... it had to have hurt.**

**PS: If any of you are wondering! I have finished my exams! woop!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	10. Change

**Author note: Sorry for the long wait. I have been enjoying my half term! Been to see STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, TWiCE, BECUSE IT IS THAT AMAZING!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own psych**

**Please enjoy, read and review!**

* * *

Something had snapped in Shawn that night. No longer did Shawn feel upset at himself, thinking he must have done something wrong to cause both of his parents to leave him. Instead he blamed Henry. Henry, not dad. For he was no longer Shawn's father. Henry had been a bad father and a bad husband and Shawn blamed him for making his mum leave them. Perhaps she didn't want to leave Shawn, just Henry and so it was his fault for making her leave. Shawn grew a shell that night. He started rebelling against Ross. Questioned his existence and what the point of him being there. Ross may never leave him and Shawn realised that was kinda creepy. Ross was with him every moment of every day and he didn't like it there and started being rebellious too. Ross began acting out through Shawn which really annoyed and scared Shawn slightly. Ross had a horrible way of making Shawn do things he didn't want to do.

Charlie called them command hallucinations and told him that if he wanted them to go away he would have to take the pills. Shawn was in two minds about it. Charlie was very nice about it; she gave him the choice of whether or not to take the pills. Charlie realised that Shawn needed to want to get better he had to want to get better. Shawn was scared but never accepted the offer of the pills. Ross told him not to and Shawn tried to resist but he couldn't do it. Shawn also knew what those drugs could do to him, sometimes they made him ill. Other times they made him really tired, sometimes they made him worse. Shawn quickly discovered that every pill had side affects.

Ross went from being Shawn's best friend to his worst enemy. The extreme started hitting a few weeks later when he killed one of the patient's pet cats. Everyone had loved that cat, even Shawn. But Ross made him kill it, Shawn was in two minds. Part of him hated that Ross was controlling him, that he had no choice on what he was doing. He had never thought that Ross could ever make him do something. Shawn loved what he was doing though. Watching as his hands ripped that cat apart, the deep red blood spraying out. This was almost as good as gutting the fish. Shawn loved it; the only thing he hated was that it didn't feel like it was him doing. It was Ross.

After a while Shawn confessed what was happening in therapy. It was extremely stumbled but he managed to force the words out and Charlie realised what was happening. Every morning from then on, she forced Shawn to take the pills. Shawn was always reluctant but after a while Charlie stared to see the effects. Some days Shawn was perfectly happy to take the pills but most days he hated it. Ross was true to his word, he never left him. Shawn heard him sometimes when he let his guard down; Ross kept him from wanting to take the pills, just a whisper in his mind.

Charlie had always known that Shawn had a very active imagination and she suspected that it wasn't actually Ross keeping him from wanting to take his pills but Shawn thinking that he would not want him to eat the pills and subconsciously remembering that Ross wouldn't want him to and obeying his past instructions.

So every morning, afternoon and evening Shawn struggled to eat his pills but Charlie made sure he ate them and slowly he did get better. Gus had kept to his promise and visited Shawn every other week. Sometimes he brought school books for Shawn to study but Shawn never had the concentration to read them, let alone study them. Perhaps if they had been interesting books Shawn might have paid attention. Shawn knew how to read and write but his education up to this point was basically nothing past the age of eight. The institute just did not have the money to hire a private tutor for Shawn. Shawn's father never came though. Preoccupied by the work load in Miami Henry never got the chance to visit Shawn. Since he moved before Charlie could call him at his home, he was never reminded and so forgot about him completely. Shawn blamed Henry for everything but eventually he would learn the truth.

Ross rebelled every so often by acting out trough Shawn but it was usually quite contained but everything changed when the institution was granted a huge anonymous donation.

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"We're moving?" Shawn asked confused. Shawn was now** fifteen years old** and this place had been his home for seven years. He didn't really want to move. He living environment had been consistent, he knew where everything was, and he knew where not to go. It was familiar to him now and he didn't want to abandon it.

Charlie nodded in excitement.

"Someone made a huge donation so were moving. Everything had been organised for the past few weeks. We were only allowed to tell you guys today as not many people here like change" she admitted.

Shawn stared at her realising what she was saying, "So we're leaving today?" he confirmed.

Charlie looked at him smiling, "Yup. Oh Shawn… you're gonna love it! Go get packed!" she said enthusiastically.

Shawn sighed; he didn't particularly want to move locations but he trudged his way upstairs anyway and found the suitcase in which he had arrived and been stuffed underneath his bed. Shawn hated bringing the suitcase out. It brought back the memories of the day that Henry had dumped him off.

...

_"Bye Shawn" Henry whispered and suddenly Shawn threw himself at his father, embracing him in a big hug. Henry hugged him back a little surprised and remembered not to touch his hair._

_Shawn didn't let out a tear, confident that his dad would come and visit him soon. Gus would be there soon too, he had promised and Gus always kept his promises. Henry slowly pulled away, blinking away the unshed tears and gestured for Mrs Adams to take him away. _

_"Come on then Shawn, I'll show you your room" she said soothingly. Shawn walked away without looking back and Henry stumbled awkwardly as he made his way out, watching his son being led away._

_..._

His dad had let him down. Part of Shawn felt a little thankful that he was here though. He hadn't felt himself in ages and now he was finally beginning to feel normal. He hadn't stopped hallucinating, he still had visitors from time to time and the unpleasant ones didn't come to visit as often, Shawn always thought morbid thoughts. Shawn guessed that it was just the way he was. Shawn knew now not to talk about it to other people. Shawn knew now what was acceptable and he was old enough to understand not to voice certain things. Except to Charlie of course. Over the years, Shawn had grown to love her like a mother. Jessica too. He talked to them both all of the time and loved them in his own way. Shawn still hated his father. Charlie had kept calling and trying to get hold of him to do some family therapy but he had never responded.

Shawn knew what was wrong with him now and decided there was nothing at all wrong with him. He had been diagnosed as a paranoid Schizophrenic with mild sociopathic tendencies but Shawn knew that it was a psychological disorder and it made him who he was. He wouldn't change that for the world. What made others normal made him unique. Shawn was a very intelligent person for someone who didn't attend school from the age of eight. His eidetic memory made it very easy to learn things quickly and Shawn found that he needed things to keep him busy. He enjoyed doing the cross words from the newspapers that were delivered and read up on what was happening in the outside world and Shawn wondered if he could dismiss himself. No. He needed a clean medical bill of health to be released. Shawn found himself sticking to routine, doing the same things every day and sometimes became agitated when his routine was disrupted. Luckily, he had never been violent. Charlie had always said she didn't think he had it in him to do something like that… when he was in the right mind. Shawn was very annoyed at the change in location but his annoyance was temporarily relieved when he saw the new centre.

Shawn stepped out of the mini bus with a face of awe. A pale grey building stood up tall before him. The window frames were newly painted white which shone when the sun hit them. Shawn noticed that each carer were taking their patients over individually as another mini bus had just pulled up and everyone was guided in through the brown double doors.

Shawn actually gasped aloud when he saw the inside. A long brown stair case crawled up the left wall, a guy was mopping the floor and Shawn could see his reflection in the ground where he was standing and looking forwards he could see through large full length windows to what looked like an endless sea of green. Shawn followed Charlie as she gave him a quick tour. She showed him the back yard, it had a fountain in the middle had a little wall surrounding it. There was a gate in the wall allowing access to beyond that point but Shawn guessed you have to have permission. It hurt Shawn's eyes, everything was white. There was nothing to stimulate him what so ever as nothing around him was interesting. He supposed that was for the patients that colours stimulate them and they go a bit nuts but they obviously weren't thinking about him in that scenario. Shawn needed something to do, his brain worked fast, with his hyper observant mind and eidetic memory Shawn bored incredibly easy and a bored Shawn was not a good Shawn and Charlie knew this and so did her best to keep him stimulates. That was why he always seemed to have an endless supply of cross word puzzles. Charlie showed him to his room next and Shawn couldn't believe how tidy and strange it was.

He had his own double bed, which was nice. But it was incredibly dull and boring and Shawn knew he would have to do something to liven it up a bit.

"We've got some paints so you can paint the walls… I know how you needs stimulation and these walls hurt my eyes to be honest" Charlie told him and he smiled.

"Everything here is so white" Shawn replied as if the colour disgusted him and Charlie instantly agreed.

"It's gonna be so great here! We've got a pool, sauna, running tracks. We have gotten a private tutor for you to catch up on your education. We can have group therapy on the lawn and we're gonna have tonnes more employees and a few more patients too. We've got people called Orderlies to restrain people too. So if anyone loses it they can keep everyone else safe. Everyone goes a little crazy sometimes" she whispered and Shawn nodded.

"I'll unpack then shall I?" Shawn asked and Charlie immediately realised he was waiting for her to go.

"Yes, of course. I'll be back in 30 minutes, and then I'll show you our new therapy room/ my office and your new tutor" she told him before leaving.

Shawn noted with an amused expression that even though new, there was a huge dead bolt on the door. Typical. It was just the same, another prison cell. Shawn unpacked quickly this time and organised everything. When he was younger he used to just stuff things anyway but he knew better now. He needed everything to be organised. In his own way of course, someone might view it as chaotic but it was going to be organised chaos. Shawn managed to unpack everything fairy quickly as he inspected the space around him.

Shawn was exhausted, the move shouldn't have made him this tired and he assumed they had changed his medication again. Shawn hated his meds now. He had expressed to Charlie that he would rather have them then be on medication but so far Charlie had refused to let him. Shawn hated feeling down, hated feeling tired all of the time and he hated the ill nights spent by the toilet seat throwing up which happened every few weeks. Shawn had decided that he would rather have the voices, he believed that he could function if he followed a routine, kept his brain busy with puzzles and had talk therapy with Charlie he was certain but Charlie always said no.

Shawn understood why, because of Ross probably. But she didn't understand Ross like he did. Shawn reasoned that surely if Ross was part of him he could control him. Shawn knew that Ross had always been there for him and part of him reasoned that he had over reacted when he found out he wasn't real; it was many years ago after all. Charlie had been brutally honest with him and he hadn't taken it too well. Shawn still saw Ross from time to time and every time Shawn panicked. Shawn never called him Ross anymore in therapy; he called him an "unpleasant visitor". Charlie thought this was a good thing; he was distancing himself from his hallucinations.

Shawn had finished unpacking and he took out another newspaper and started flicking through it. You could learn a lot from the papers. Shawn had become paranoid that the government was after him sometimes, he and come up with several theories about technological advances. For example he had seen the new cell phones that had come out; in fact Gus had brought one with him last time he had visited. Shawn had told him that it was the government's way of tracking people but Gus wouldn't listen. Shawn read a lot of things that didn't agree with him including several things he read about restless leg syndrome? Shawn knew that was just an invention of the drug companies to sell more pills. They claimed they were "going to save lives", right, conveniently forgetting about all the money they were going to earn. It was absolutely rubbish in his opinion. Rubbish.

* * *

.

...

...

Later on Charlie came back and introduced him to his new tutor Mr Daniels. Shawn thought he was a nice man. He was stood there in Charlie's new office wearing a suit and tie with a long chain around his neck saying VISITOR on it.

"You look nervous" Shawn commented and Charlie shot him a look. The man just laughed nervously and shrugged.

"Let's just say I wanted to make a good impression, Shawn" he replied and Charlie smiled.

"He will be your tutor and teach you about maths, science, English… everything." Charlie said and looked to see Shawn's expression.

"Isn't 15 a little late to start learning?" Shawn asked and Mr Daniels smiled at him.

"I'm told you're very intelligent" he said smiling sharing a quick glance with Charlie.

Shawn sighed; Charlie had obviously spoken to him prior and told him all about him.

"Fine" Shawn sighed.

"We'll meet up every day and I'll give you homework assignments to complete" Mr Daniels said in excitement. "We'll have our first lesson tomorrow as I have put together a simple test for you to complete so I can gage your education….. See what you can remember"

"I remember everything" Shawn stated blandly. It wasn't the truth. He remembered most things, the important things.

"Well, it will just be a case of what your teachers actually taught you and to what level" he stated and Shawn just nodded in boredom. Mr Daniels was boring him.

"Right, well. We'll see you tomorrow Mr Daniels" Charlie stated awkwardly in an effort to dismiss him. Mr Daniels seemed to understand,

"Yes, see you then Miss Roberts" Mr Daniels bowed, "See you tomorrow Shawn" he smiled before he closed the door behind him.

Immediately the atmosphere relaxed and Charlie dropped from her professional manner.

"What do you think?" Charlie asked as she dumped herself on the new sofa.

"He's ok" Shawn replied absently.

"Just Ok?" Charlie replied with a smile.

Shawn shrugged before sitting next to Charlie looking down.

"I know you don't like change Shawn, it's not good for you I agree but Mr Daniels will bring you puzzles….like this one" she smiled handing him a book of cross words.

Shawn smiled and grabbed the book enthusiastically.

"Thanks" he smiled and Charlie smiled.

"You're welcome"

Charlie paused and watched as Shawn began to flick through the cross word book.

"How are you feeling?" Charlie asked sympathetically, noticing that Shawn looked a bit down.

"Fine" Shawn replied, not looking up until he glanced upwards and saw Charlie's sceptic face.

"Are you seeing him again?" she asked referring to Ross and they both knew that.

Shawn was quick to shake his head.

"Not really. I just hate being on meds" Shawn moaned and Charlie sighed.

"Shawn, we've talked about this…" she started.

"No we haven't" Shawn interrupted. "You just keep telling me that I need them to be normal. Yes I have a condition that is MY normal; it is what makes me unique"

"Shawn…"

"No, I hate being on meds. They change every few months and make me feel sick, ill. One thing I have learnt is that every pill has side effects. Surely taking them for long periods is bad for you? All the people you read about with drug trials and people dying of heart attacks from adverse reactions"

"Shawn. I don't have a choice here, we can experiment but I can't take you off your meds completely. Technically that choice is up to your parents" Charlie told him quietly.

Shawn paused for a moment before answering. "Let me guess, you haven't been able to contact my mom or my dad"

Charlie grimaced and shrugged in agreement.

"Doesn't that make you my guardian then?" Shawn asked.

Charlie shook her head slowly.

"Technically, they are still your guardians until you turn 18. Then custody transfers to us." She explained and Shawn looked solemn.

"Look, maybe after you have adapted to this place we could try a few weeks without your meds but your routine had been disrupted and I don't want to ruin our progress. Your health is my main priority. But if you decline you'll have to go back on." Charlie explained and Shawn smiled weakly.

"Thanks"

* * *

.

...

...

True to Charlie's promise, a few weeks later he tried without his meds. Shawn stopped feeling tired all the time and he felt loads better. For the first week or so he had no problems what so ever. Not that Shawn noticed anyway. He developed routine and made sure he did the same thing every day and he became familiar with his surroundings. Even the new patients loved Shawn once they had adapted, in fact all of the patients loved Shawn. It was mainly just because he was young, at 15 years old he was several years younger than the rest of the patients and every one saw him as the child of the place and treated him as the little kid. Even though, Shawn was more mature than some of the patients. There was one girl here who was about 25 who woke up every day thinking she was 17. Phoebe was her name. She had suffered a severe psychological trauma when she was 17 and had developed retrograde amnesia. Shawn had become good friends with her over the years and as long as there wasn't a mirror in the room for her to see her aged reflection, they were all good.

In his therapy sessions all seemingly went Ok and Charlie agreed that he didn't have to take any medications as long as he kept up his routine and continued talk therapy and Shawn was ecstatic. Charlie would occasionally catch him looking over his shoulder at someone who wasn't there but Shawn tried not to react to them, knowing they were hallucinations when people walked past them without realising or when his common sense kicked in with, Spider man is a fictional character. There is no way he can be standing there.

His tutoring went really well and Mr Daniels actually had trouble keeping up. It reached a point when Shawn was 19 when he decided there was nothing left he could teach him. Instead, Shawn was told to visit the library every day which he easily fit in to his schedule. Spending exactly two hours every afternoon in the library studying the subjects in alphabetical order. He read everything, fiction and nonfiction. Some of the things he read weren't particularly interesting but Shawn couldn't stand only reading half of a book, he had to complete things. He had never left a cross word uncompleted. If he didn't know the answer, he never asked anyone, he hated getting help; instead he went to the library and looked it up himself. They got computers in the library at one point that you had to have special permission to use. Shawn had been given permission but refused to use them. Shawn knew all about the radiation they could give off, perhaps giving him skin cancer. He also knew that staring at a screen could damage your eyes and refused to let himself be drawn by these atrocious technological advances. Charlie considered Shawn a genius but Shawn was modest but also honestly blunt. Charlie warned him that he was very blunt with people and although he shouldn't lie, sometimes not telling someone the whole truth could be beneficial.

* * *

**Author note: Ok, so now we have a diagnosis for Shawn's mental condition! Woop! And more donations means a nicer place. Woop! Next chapter we will skip 8 years where he is 23. See you all then! (Not in 8 years but, you know what I mean)**


	11. Shawn's statement

**Author note: TA DA! The next chapter is here. Shawn is now 23. 15+8=23. Thought i would say that cos even I got confused but then i remembered i skipped to him being 15 years old so...**

**I am sure your maths is better than mine!**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own psych**

**INTRODUCING JULES AND LASSIE!**

* * *

Eight Years Later (Shawn ages 23)

Shawn was sat at the table in one of the sitting rooms, wearing headphones to block out the surrounding sound and was easily completing a cross word that lay in his lap. Charlie had gotten Shawn an IPOD and Shawn had immediately taken a liking to it and Charlie noticed how much it helped his symptoms. It helped block out the sound from around him and allowed him to concentrate on a single tune. Whenever Shawn was listening he orchestrated the music like a conductor with both his hands, closed his eyes and let himself fall into the music. It looked a little strange as he did this but Charlie understood how much it helped him and was happy that Shawn was taking control of his own symptoms. Sixteen years Shawn had been cooped up in the mental institution now and nothing interesting had happened since one of the elderly doctors had a heart attack and rushed to the hospital and even that was a few years ago now. Shawn was 23 years old, legally an adult and now, more than ever he wanted to leave this place and start living once again in the real world. His opinion wasn't shared though; none of the other patients wanted him to leave. He had been there too long and was a huge part of their lives. Shawn remembered a conversation that he had with Jessica, the day he turned 18.

_"Do you think they will let me go?" Shawn asked Jessica. Shawn lying on top of her bed whilst she was sat on the chair._

_"Go where goose?" she responded using her very own nickname Goose that she had given Shawn when he was a child, Shawn hated it but never once complained about its use._

_"Outside. In the real world. I'm 18 now. Legally an adult" Shawn reasoned, trying to put his point across._

_"I'm legally an adult Shawn. They haven't let me go" she pointed out. Shawn sighed and sunk into the pillows._

_"What's it like in the real world?" Shawn asked her staring up at the ceiling. Jessica sighed and came over to join him on top of the bed._

_"The same really. There are swimming pools that go on for ever. You have to pay for everything, food, water, electricity-"_

_"I know that" Shawn snapped angrily before seeing her shocked face and immediately apologising._

_"I just meant that. I spent so much time cooped up in my head. Seeing things that aren't there, talking to walls. I just want to know, how different is true reality outside these walls?"_

_Jessica sighed, knowing this would be a hard question to answer._

_"Goose. What is reality?" she began._

_Shawn sat up and gave an answer, "What we see, hear, touch, taste"_

_Jessica nodded. "But If what we often see, hear, touch and taste is wrong" she began looking at Shawn pointing, knowing all about his diagnosis. "How can we ever know what is real?"_

_Shawn furrowed his brow, remembering what he had read in the latest psychology books._

_"I get it. Your saying that reality is a figment is part of my imagination. So the 'real world' is just the same as this one depending on how I view it"_

_"Exactly" Jessica smiled._

_"Do you think one day I will get released?" Shawn asked her and instead of sighing she smiled sympathetically at him._

_"You know what Shawn. I think so. But I don't know what I will do without you when that time comes" she said and Shawn smiled at her._

_"I might just escape and follow you out!" she joked. Shawn laughed and she joined in. Jessica always knew how to make him feel better._

That day seemed like ages ago and although Jessica reassured him that she thought one day he would get released, it was getting less and less likely. Even though he couldn't release himself when he was 18 there was one good thing that came out of it. He was now his own person and neither of his parents had custody any more. This meant Shawn didn't have to take his pills and could continue trying to manage without them. Obviously he understood that if he had any major relapses he would quickly be dosed up or if he reported more than the usual number of guests that came to visit him, but Shawn was pretty good of not reacting.

It was a Tuesday currently and Charlie had given him a newspaper that morning. Charlie gave him the newspapers mainly for the cross words but sometimes, Shawn was a lot more interested in the stories. Shawn had always complained that nothing exciting went on as he got bored really easily but for the past week or so, Shawn had been a little entertained by what was going on in the outside world. Murder. It would have been more exciting if it had been more than one but it was still a murder. Upon a first glance of the newspaper he wanted to know how they did it. Shawn understood that part of his diagnosis meant he had mild sociopathic tendencies and realised that this must be what they meant. Immediately Shawn wanted to know everything. He used his imagination to put together how it could have been done. Maybe a rare type of poison administered in this coffee. What would happen if the murderer injected acid into the guys veins, surely it would slowly circulate the body and corrode everything in its path. Of course they could have made them drink it and see what it did then. Or he could have done something like shoot him or hit him over the head. He was hit over the head. It was a major disappointment. Shawn groaned as he read **"****_died of a blunt force trauma to the back of the head"._**Couldn't the guy have been more creative? Shawn continued reading and his eyes went wide as he read the line further down the page.

**_"Mr Gary Mcgavern's attorney has pleaded mental insanity and Mr Gary Mcgavern will be sent to West Haven's psychiatric centre to be legally admitted."_**

He's coming here? This was exciting. This newspaper was technically reporting yesterday's news which meant there was a high probability that he was already here. That angered Shawn though slightly. It was new, it was change. This was going to interrupt his routine. His order was going to turn to chaos and he knew it. He would complain to Charlie later, but for now, he had to find out who Gary Mcgavern was.

Shawn never did start the cross word. Instead he grabbed a pen and brought the newspaper with him downstairs and sat outside in the sun. As Shawn had gotten older, Charlie had trusted him more and allowed him to explore, this was no problem for Shawn. He kept to his schedule anyway and so Charlie always knew where to find him.

He kept an eye on his surroundings at all time and filled in his crossword easily. They never challenged him as Shawn was smarter than the average person he rarely got stuck on a puzzle. He could never leave one half-finished either, if he didn't know an answer, he would struggle over it for hours before he went down to the library to try and find it.

"Shawn!" a voice called and Shawn looked up from his crossword to find Charlie looking at him. She smiled in relief when he looked up and Charlie realised she had found him. Charlie took a seat next to Shawn and he shuffled slightly away and the closeness of their positions. He had always been uncomfortable with close contact, even with Charlie who he knew and trusted.

"Hey" Shawn replied, before filling in another row of his puzzle frowning. Why hadn't Charlie told him?

"I just heard. We have a new patient" Charlie told him.

Shawn turned his head up sharply. "I know. I've been following the news. How can you allow him to be here? I bet you he's not even crazy! He's just trying to get out of a murder charge!"

Charlie looked at him with a stern impression.

"Mr Mcgavern arrived here last night and so far has displayed the appropriate symptoms so far…"

Shawn scoffed loudly.

"He killed a person! The easiest way to get out of a murder charge is to plead mental insanity! Any fool knows that!" Shawn responded forcefully.

"Well. No one can fake forever. If he isn't 'crazy', we'll know soon enough" Charlie assured him, with a smile that never reached her eyes.

Shawn let out a bitter laugh. "The sooner the better. I don't want him killing me! The next thing I know is he'll be slipping poison into my food!"

Charlie sighed. "That's your paranoia talking. I will guard your food I promise"

Shawn sighed slightly before returning to his crossword. Knowing his food would be guarded by Charlie made him feel slightly better.

"Fine" he mumbled, his pen scratching into his crossword so hard he almost ripped the paper. After finishing the crossword he turned the paper over and stared at the image of the man, Mr Gary Mcgavern.

* * *

.

...

...

Shawn met Gary not a day later and decided that he didn't like him. Every time they would meet he would stare at him, making him feel as uncomfortable as possible. Shawn didn't have any proof of him faking it, neither did he have any proof that he wasn't but Shawn was very superstitious…. Or you could call it paranoia!

Shawn made it his new mission to prove that he was faking. Little did he know that the next day, people would arrive that could change his life forever.

* * *

.

...

...

Tomorrow started as an ordinary day for Shawn. He followed his routine, he had his breakfast, he did his cross word in the sun, and then he never got any further. He was aware of cars pulling up outside the entrance. He couldn't see them very well as the gate was far from the main building but Shawn could recognize the police cars. Two of them and a long red car with a flashing light on the top. They were police cars like the one his father used to drive.

"Charlie!" Shawn yelled. Charlie didn't come, she was too far away. Instead, another orderly answered his call. Shawn read her name tag 'Bethany'.

"What's the matter Shawn?" she asked, trying to calm him down.

Shawn pointed in the direction of the cars and Bethany watched as the gate slowly opened and the cars drove through.

"Cops" she stated mildly surprised. "Perhaps they are here to investigate Mr Mcgavern"

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, I always knew he was faking" he replied viciously and Bethany left him to it. Since Shawn knew what they were doing now, he quickly lost interest and put his head phones in so the noise from the sirens didn't distract him.

After he finished his cross word puzzle he went to the cafeteria and grabbed his tray of food. After checking that no one had touched it and smelling it for dangerous toxins, he hesitantly took a mouthful. It tasted normal, good. Shawn knew most of the deadly toxins came with an odour or at least an unpleasant bitter taste so Shawn was satisfied it wasn't poisoned. He quickly ate up every mouthful.

Later on that day Shawn was on his way to meet with Jessica when he ran into Charlie talking to two younger looking detectives.

"Shawn" Charlie called over and Shawn sighed and came over, trying to ignore the detective's curious gazes.

"What?" Shawn asked annoyed. He had somewhere to be, Charlie of all people should know that.

"This is Detective Carlton Lassiter and Detective Juliet O'Hara. They are with the SBPD" she smiled and looked at him knowingly.

"Yeah, investigating that Gary guy" Shawn responded dryly before adding, "I told you so" to Charlie who didn't deny it.

"Can we ask you a few questions?" Detective O'Hara asked politely.

Shawn sighed and thought about refusing but he looked at her, properly looked at her. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. She had luscious blonde locks that hung just past her shoulders and a bright cheerful face that he believed no person could distrust. The other detective on the other hand was completely the opposite.

Shawn glanced at Charlie and she pleaded with her eyes.

"Please Shawn, it's crucial for their investigation" Charlie insisted and Shawn nodded slowly.

"Ok" Shawn conceded and Charlie let out a small breath of relief that didn't go unnoticed by Shawn.

"Can we take this somewhere private?" Detective Lassiter asked and Charlie nodded.

"Follow me, we can use my office" Charlie stated. The Detectives nodded and followed her into her office. Shawn trailed behind them somewhat reluctantly.

Shawn plonked himself on the sofa and mentally prepared himself to be subject to their torturous questions.

"Fire away" Shawn spoke, wanting to get this over and done with as soon as possible.

"Um…"Carlton began awkwardly, glancing at his notes. "Have you heard about what happened involving Mr Gary Mcgavern?" he asked.

O'Hara looked sharply at her partner. They were talking to a patient of a mental institution, he should have eased his way into it, not gone and asked straight away.

Shawn sighed. "I read about it in the newspaper, yeah. Hit him on the back of the head. Pleaded mental insanity, got stuck here"

"You don't like it here?" O'Hara asked shocked. From the brief tour she had been subjected to it seemed like a place of luxury, there were swimming pools, yoga, saunas…

Shawn laughed bitterly. "I've been here 15 years" he explained, as if that simple fact solved everything. Charlie's smile faded slightly.

"What do you think of Mcgavern?" Carlton asked not a moment later, knowing there must be a good reason why he had been here so long, because he is a nut job.

"If you are asking whether I think he is faking? Yeah I reckon he is" Shawn responded. O'Hara frowned.

"Why would you think that?" she asked.

Shawn laughed. "Have you seen that guy? He's too well put together to be in here!"

Carlton frowned, "Isn't that what the meds are for?"

Shawn laughed once more and Juliet found herself wondering what he found so funny.

"Look, I have spent most of my life on meds. No medication starts working straight away; you have to be on them for at least 48 hours for them to start working properly. Gary has hardly been here 24."

Their eyes widened. That was true. Charlie realised this as well.

"No mental illness is treated overnight. He pretends to act a little vacant but I've seen him roll his eyes when someone is annoying him… mainly me. Plus, the orderly that gives him his pills gives me the creeps. The pills also look like those sugar pills you made me take when he wanted me to think I was taking mine" Shawn pointed out to Charlie and her eyes widened with realisation.

"Miss Marks? Is it?"

"Call me Charlie" she responded smiling.

"Charlie, is it possible Mr Mcgavern has been taking sugar pills and his 'recovery' has been totally faked?" Carlton asked, his excitement barely contained.

"I guess it is possible" Charlie agreed.

Interrupting Shawn stood up.

"Of course it is possible. Just because I am paranoid doesn't' mean I am wrong. Look, I was meant to meet someone 15 minutes ago. If that's it?" Shawn didn't wait for an answer before leaving the room.

Charlie saw Detective O'Hara about to call after him but Charlie interrupted, "Don't bother"

She frowned. "Is that a camera?" she asked looking up at the ceiling.

Charlie nodded. "Any of our sessions are recorded in here."

"Was that conversation recorded?" Carlton asked.

"Of course" Charlie replied blandly. "Shawn is my patient"

They both grinned.

"We'll need a copy of that tape for evidence" they said and she nodded hesitantly.

"Okay" she replied whilst logging into the computer.

"Has he really been here fifteen years?" Detective O'Hara asked.

Charlie smiled grimly. "Well I can't break patient confidentiality but because Shawn told you I can confirm it. Shawn Spencer has indeed been here for fifteen years"

"Spencer?" They both asked at the same time which shock.

Charlie looked up surprised.

"Son of Henry Spencer?" Detective Lassiter asked.

"Yes" she paused. "Do you know Henry? I have been trying to get in touch with his parents since he came here but his mother went travelling somewhere and his father moved to Miami and never rang"

"Uh. Detective Henry Spencer did transfer to Miami. It's where I was from originally but, he transferred back to Santa Barbra earlier this week. He brought me with him"

"What? He's back in Santa Barbra?" Charlie asked in shock before sighing. "And of course he didn't think to come visit!" she cried in exasperation.

"He never came?" Detective O'Hara asked sadly.

Charlie shook her head. "I found out of his departure from a Mrs Guster. Shawn's best friend's mother"

"Oh God"

The computer suddenly let out a beep and Charlie turned round to look at the screen.

"Here's the footage detectives" she told them, "Shall I send it to you?"

Detective Lassiter shook his head. "Put it onto here" he instructed handing her a memory stick and she nodded. A few seconds later, the transfer was complete.

"Detectives. Before you leave promise me something. Don't tell Shawn about his father" Charlie asked.

The Detectives nodded before they left the room with the footage on his memory stick, thanking Charlie as they left.

* * *

**Author note: Thanks for reading!**

**So now Shawn had met Juliet and Carlton! Let me know what vibes you got off them.**

**If you hadn't guessed already from what I wrote. Juliet and Lassie are partners (in crime not romantically), Lucinda Barry never transfered over because Juliet did instead. Happy?**

**Please leave me a review!**

**See you all next time!**


	12. Sugar pills

**Author note: I know in my profile thing I said I wasn't going to update for three weeks, technically that ends on the weekend of the 6th and 7th of July. However, I have been given this weekend off so I decided to try and update at least one of my stories and I chose this one cos it's my favourite!**

**So enjoy this chapter! And hopefully I can get writing again on the 6th! Another update should be soon after that.**

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Juliet was new at the whole detective thing as she had only just been promoted to an officer. Henry had spotted her in Miami and said that she showed great potential and if she transferred to Santa Barbra with him, he would make sure she got the promotion she desperately craved. The only bad thing was she hardly knew anything about being a Detective. What was the angle for **this?** Was she meant to inform the Chief? Let Mr Spencer know? Tell him off even? She had barely been in Santa Barbra for a week and yet several members of the station quietly warned her about Mr Spencer. Well not really warned, but informed her of his situation. Many members of the station felt sorry for him. Others assumed that he had come back occasionally for visits and Juliet was shocked to find otherwise. Who would abandon their son like that? It was cruel. But sympathy was given by most people at the station, understanding how hard it was for him after the divorce of his wife and the death of his best friend Tom after he was captured by Mr Yang. From talking to people, everyone felt sympathy for Shawn. They whispered how he crazy, how apparently Henry was overheard telling someone that his son put his pet rabbit in the freezer and burned it to see if it rotted in hell or how he used to sit and watch a TV screen that wasn't even on. Shawn didn't seem to be that crazy when she saw him, but she guessed that was because he was on medication.

"So what do we do now Lassiter?" she asked as they drove back to the station.

Carlton gave her a quick glance before returning his focus onto the road. "We need to hand over the tape to evidence" he responded.

"What if they recognise him?" Juliet asked worriedly. "The tape would turn into a spectacle"

Carlton silently agreed. "We'll inform he Chief first"

The journey back to the station was only a relatively short one and as soon as they arrived, they marched straight to the Chief's office.

Juliet knocked impatiently.

"Come in" The Chief yelled. Karen Vick had been made Chief a few years ago and had been the one who managed to persuade Henry to come back to Santa Barbra, on the condition that Juliet O'Hara was made a detective and got to be transferred over. There was going to be a new transfer detective anyway, it was a choice between Lucinda Barry and Juliet O'Hara. Due to her friendship with Henry, it was easy which option was to be chosen.

"Detective O'Hara, Lassiter. What can I do for you?" she asked kindly.

They looked at each other before Carlton dug in his pocket and handed her the memory stick, "Look at this"

The Chief accepted the memory stick before inserting it into her computer. Juliet then took the opportunity to close the door behind them and close the blinds insuring complete privacy.

The blinds ensured darkness and soon the screen lit up and showed what happened, just as they both remembered it.

_"Um…" Carlton began awkwardly, glancing at his notes. "Have you heard about what happened involving Mr Gary Mcgavern?" he asked._

_O'Hara looked sharply at her partner. They were talking to a patient of a mental institution, he should have eased his way into it, not gone and asked straight away._

_Shawn sighed. "I read about it in the newspaper, yeah. Hit him on the back of the head. Pleaded mental insanity, got stuck here"_

_"You don't like it here?" O'Hara asked shocked. From the brief tour she had been subjected to it seemed like a place of luxury, there were swimming pools, yoga, saunas…_

_Shawn laughed bitterly. "I've been here 15 years" he explained, as if that simple fact solved everything. Charlie's smile faded slightly._

_"What do you think of Mcgavern?" Carlton asked not a moment later, knowing there must be a good reason why he had been here so long, because he is a nut job._

_"If you are asking whether I think he is faking? Yeah I reckon he is" Shawn responded. O'Hara frowned._

_"Why would you think that?" she asked._

_Shawn laughed. "Have you seen that guy? He's too well put together to be in here!"_

_Carlton frowned, "Isn't that what the meds are for?"_

_Shawn laughed once more and Juliet found herself wondering what he found so funny._

_"Look, I have spent most of my life on meds. No medication starts working straight away; you have to be on them for at least 48 hours for them to start working properly. Gary has hardly been here 24."_

_Their eyes widened. That was true. Charlie realised this as well._

_"No mental illness is treated overnight. He pretends to act a little vacant but I've seen him roll his eyes when someone is annoying him… mainly me. Plus, the orderly that gives him his pills gives me the creeps. The pills also look like those sugar pills you made me take when he wanted me to think I was taking mine" Shawn pointed out to Charlie and her eyes widened with realisation._

_"Miss Marks? Is it?"_

_"Call me Charlie" she responded smiling._

_"Charlie, is it possible Mr Mcgavern has been taking sugar pills and his 'recovery' has been totally faked?" Carlton asked, his excitement barely contained._

_"I guess it is possible" Charlie agreed._

_Interrupting Shawn stood up._

_"Of course it is possible. Just because I am paranoid doesn't' mean I am wrong. Look, I was meant to meet someone 15 minutes ago. If that's it?" Shawn didn't wait for an answer before leaving the room._

_Charlie saw Detective O'Hara about to call after him but Charlie interrupted, "Don't bother"_

_She frowned. "Is that a camera?" she asked looking up at the ceiling._

The screen then went blank as Charlie had ended the recording. The Chief looked up from the screen.

"Have you got people investigating?" she queried.

Carlton nodded. "We have people looking into the pills. After speaking to his carer Charlie, she assured us that it takes at least 48 hours for medication to kick in, we have an eye witness who states 'he rolled his eyes' and if they turn out to be sugar pills…" he trailed off and the Chief grew a big smile.

"Then we've got him" she grinned. "Good work guys"

"Uh, Chief, there's one more thing" Juliet began hesitantly.

"What is it?" the Chief responded and Carlton looked at his partner a little nervously.

"That guy's name Is Shawn"

The Chief looked up shocked.

"Shawn?" she breathed in shock, "You mean…"

"That is Shawn Spencer" Juliet revealed, gesturing to the screen.

"Oh my God" the Chief exclaimed. "I had completely forgotten…." She whispered to herself.

"You're both dismissed. Leave the evidence with me" the Chief ordered.

Both detectives looked hesitant to leave. "That's an order"

"Are you gonna tell Mr Spencer?" Juliet asked and the Chief sighed.

"He's going to find out eventually. It'll be better coming from me… send him in, will you"

Juliet sighed a breath of relief as she and her partner left the Chief's office. Immediately she scanned the room for Henry Spencer and found him making himself a cup of coffee, looking absolutely exhausted. Carlton left to go his office and wished her luck to deal with Mr Spencer. He had been quite threatening to Carlton at first, wanted to make sure that he was appropriate material to be working with Juliet. She loved the way he believed in her.

"Mr Spencer? You ok?" she asked hesitantly and he let out a small grin.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just finished up all of the paper work for that murder case downtown"

"Already? But that was only solved yesterday?" Juliet responded in astonishment.

"Well, a good detective gets things done quickly" Henry responded and Juliet cracked out a small smile.

"Well, on a different note. The Chief wants to see you in her office. Carlton and I found something out today and you really have to know…" she told him and immediately Henry grew anxious.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked, seeing the nervous look in her eyes.

"Nothing, just go and see the Chief" Juliet told him weakly, and so Henry did.

* * *

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...

...

Juliet waited nervously at her desk for Henry to come out of the Chief's office. She considered trying to spy on him but in a station full of cops… not a good idea. Carlton was sat next to her by his desk and when the phone rang, he picked it up after one ring.

"This is Detective Carlton Lassiter speaking..."

Juliet watched as her partners expression turned from one of boredom to shock and then delight. He then slammed the phone down and turned to Juliet.

"Guess who has just been found out to be prescribing sugar pills to their patient?" he grinned.

Juliet grinned back. "Gary's carer?"

Carlton nodded. "Sally Burns was Gary's newly assigned carer and she has just been found guilty for giving him sugar pills instead of proper medication. They have just arrested her and Gary is being charged with murder!"

"Justice" Juliet whispered to herself before glancing at the Chief's door.

"We've gotta tell the Chief straight away" he realised before heading over to the door and knocking forcefully. Carlton could almost sense the frustration coming from inside the room.

"What?" the Chief shouted, knowing that something must be very important or she wouldn't have been disturbed.

Juliet and Carlton took no time to stop and hesitate and opened the door carefully.

"We just got an arrest. The kid was right. Sugar pills" Carlton spoke out and the Chief raised an eyebrow.

"Good" she smiled, happy with the achievement.

Henry looked on at this exchange with a slightly confused state of mind. The Chief, Karen, one of Henry's best friends, had called in him in to her office and started talking to him about this case and was explaining the finer details when they entered.

"You got an arrest" he noted surprised, "Well done"

Juliet shrugged modestly. "Well it wasn't us. If it weren't for your kid Shawn, we would have never got him"

"Shawn? What about him?" Henry spluttered slightly panicked. The subject of his son hadn't come up in years, everyone had tipped toed around this issue and to hear it so abruptly mention shocked him.

"You haven't told him" Juliet whispered to herself before looking down at the ground.

"Not yet" the Chief agreed.

"Gary Mcgavern pleaded mental insanity, Henry." She explained and Henry's expression didn't change.

"And?" he asked, not seeing where they were trying to take him with this.

"He was sent to West Haven psychiatric centre" the Chief stated and watched as the sudden brick of realisation hit him in the face. Henry's eyes widened and he sunk himself down in the chair in shock. Juliet came up next to him in a hope to give him some comfort and Carlton grumbled to himself before coming closer himself.

There was a moments silence before anyone moved and the Chief played the tape again. The noise distracted Henry from looking at the floor in shock and he watched the screen attentively and Juliet noticed that he barley blinked, as a lonesome tear rolled down from his right eye.

"I've got to see him" Henry whispered to himself.

No one spoke and watched Henry carefully. As Henry stood up, wiping the tear from his eye Juliet quickly stopped him.

"You'll have to ring first" she told him. "His carers name is called Charlie, she's really nice"

"Tell me about him" Henry urged madly, stumbling up to Juliet and Carlton.

"Uh, He looked healthy. You saw the tape, I didn't see him other than that" Juliet told him.

"You got the number?" Henry asked madly and the Chief quickly raised her hand to get the attention.

"I do" she waved. "Here" she said whilst pressing the numbers into her office phone.

* * *

**Author note: So Henry's going to see his son! WOOP! **

**Let me know what you guys think in the reviews! I really appreciate them! They make me smile!**

**Thanks to all my frequent reviewers! and thanks to my not so frequent reviews too! I love reading every one of them!**


	13. The first Visit

**Author note: Sorry for the wait. But hopefully the wait was worth it...**

**Please, read and review!**

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Charlie was in her office sorting out Shawn's latest prescription. With all of the excitement of the police involvement, Charlie wanted to take the precaution. Shawn agreed to it too. Drugs had advanced a lot since he was a kid and a new pill had been researched and released where the only side effect was tiredness. Shawn had often complained that he couldn't think clearly sometimes but that was about it. Shawn agreed to it this time because he had just watched two people get arrested. One for murder and one for prescribing sugar pills. Shawn remembered that Ross had been there at the time nagging him in his ear saying, "How do you know she won't slip you poison instead of meds?" Shawn dismissed the thought after only a moment's thought. Shawn trusted Charlie and he knew that she would never lie to him, she had always been brutally honest but at least that gave Shawn a sense of consistency. The phone started to ring and Shawn grumbled over to answer it.

"Hello?" she answered, not in a very professional way as this was her personal mobile phone.

There was no sound on the other end and Charlie frowned into the phone. She could almost hear whispers on the other end.

"Uh Hi" a voice finally spoke. "This is Henry Spencer"

Charlie gasped surprise.

"I know" Henry responded on the other line. "You are Shawn's carer?"

"Yes I am. Are you finally interested in visiting?" Charlie asked bitterly. Years had gone by without a squeak from him and she was beyond angry.

"Look. I'm sorry I wasn't there for him first. I didn't even want to send him there! I mean…. I'm sure it's lovely but if it had been up to me, he would have stayed, and we would have managed. But…. Custody went to my ex-wife and she wanted him there so I couldn't refuse."

Charlie didn't reply.

"Look…" Henry tried again, "I just really want to see my son"

There was silence again for several moments until Charlie finally replied.

"By law I can't stop you" she spoke at last. "Are you willing to contribute in family therapy?"

There was a pause and a hush of whispers on the other end.

"Anything" Henry agreed.

Another pause. "Come around 2 and… bring a pineapple"

Henry smiled in relief and gratitude. "Thank you and I will."

Charlie hung up the phone before staring at it for a long time. _What just happened?_ She thought to herself. She hadn't known custody went to Maddy. Hopefully Henry would explain that to Shawn and maybe he wouldn't be so mad at him. Hopefully this would be good to Shawn though. If Henry actually started coming to family therapy twice a week, some real psychological progress could be made.

She knew what she had to do. She glanced at the clock and found it to be quite late in the evening. Thinking of where Shawn might be, she realised that he would probably be in his room by now, getting ready for bed and she rushed up to his room and tenderly knocked on the door three times.

Shawn opened the door and smiled when he saw Charlie.

"Come in" he invited and Charlie stepped inside almost hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Shawn asked concerned.

"I have some news for you. Your father is coming to visit you tomorrow" Charlie spoke out in a rush.

Shawn froze. "What?" he whispered.

"I just got off the phone with him and he's coming to visit for family therapy" she explained watching as Shawn's face twisted into various expressions of shock.

Shawn collapsed onto the bed. "Why now?" he whispered to himself.

"_Probably cos of the arrests. He was probably investigating that Gary guy too. It's not like he actually remembered about you or anything" _Ross interceded and Shawn scowled.

"I don't know Shawn. Let him explain everything tomorrow. For now, just try and get some sleep. I won't force you to talk unless you want to. He just wants to meet you and I am sure that he could understand if you weren't ready."

"Thanks for telling me" Shawn whispered again.

"You're welcome. Good night Shawn" Charlie whispered back as she switched off the light on the wall and gently closed the door behind her, it automatically locked.

Shawn lay there in bed thinking about what Charlie had just told him. He couldn't believe it. His father, who abandoned him when he was eight, was actually coming to visit for the first time.

Shawn didn't notice how much time was passing until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

Shawn blinked and looked at her. It was the orderly, Bethany.

"Yeah. I'm fine. What time is it?" he groaned and Bethany glanced over to his clock in the corner of the room.

"Ten. Sorry for intruding. I was told you would be asleep" she winced.

"It's ok" Shawn responded.

Bethany smiled before wandering into Shawn's bathroom and picking up a towel, lying on the floor. She held the towel for him to see it before smiling and saying,

"Insanity is no excuse for not hanging up your own towel" she commented.

Shawn smiled weakly back, "Sorry. It must have fallen off" he grinned weakly and Bethany laughed back.

"Ha, yeah of course it did" she replied sarcastically, but the smile never left her face.

Shawn watched as she returned the towel to the railing and she notices Shawn's intense look of concentration.

"What's wrong?" Bethany asked.

"My dad, who dumped me here when I was 8, is coming to visit me tomorrow" Shawn divulged.

"Really?" she asked bewildered.

Shawn simply nodded.

"Well that's good" she commented hesitantly.

"Good?"

"Well, yes. You can finally ask anything you want, maybe yell a bit" she smiled weakly and Shawn nodded weakly,

"I guess" he whispered. Shawn had matured over the years and no longer hated his dad. He knew there could have been extenuating circumstances and was willing to give him a chance to explain himself.

Shawn sighed to himself and fell asleep almost immediately. Bethany creeped out of the room silently, pulling the door to on her way out.

* * *

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..

...

"Look…" Henry tried again, "I just really want to see my son"

There was silence again for several moments until Charlie finally replied.

"By law I can't stop you" she spoke at last. "Are you willing to contribute in family therapy?"

Henry looked round at the Chief and shrugged at her, knowing that he would have to miss precious time at work for these therapy sessions. The Chief quickly whispered back it was fine and she wouldn't have it when Henry questioned her.

"Anything" Henry agreed finally, sensing Juliet's approval in the corner.

Another pause. "Come around 2 and… bring a pineapple"

Henry smiled in relief and gratitude. "Thank you and I will."

"Bring a pineapple?" Carlton was the first to speak.

Henry gave a dry chuckle. "He really likes pineapple… last time I saw him he was obsessed with lolly pops"

The sadness in Henry's eyes was evident and Carlton stood there feeling very uncomfortable as he was not very good at all this touchy feely stuff.

"Go home Henry. You can have tomorrow off and see your son" the Chief instructed.

"Karen? The whole day?" Henry spluttered.

The Chief raised an eyebrow at being addressed so informally but smiled none the less.

"Just, don't mess this up" she smiled and Juliet came over and squeezed his arm in assurance.

"I won't" Henry assured them all.

Carlton sighed.

"Anyway, back to work!" the Chief yelled and Carlton seemed to vanish through the door in a second. Juliet smiled assuringly again at Henry before following her partner out of her office.

"Thanks Karen" Henry thanked her. She nodded as if to say 'you're welcome' and then Henry left. He had lots to think about, he was going to see his son in the morning… well afternoon.

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Henry awoke the next morning in an extreme state of nerves. He couldn't wait to see his son. Then ate his breakfast quickly and then ran to the store to grab a fresh pineapple.

He arrived at West Haven at twelve o'clock.

Two hours early.

Henry sighed glancing at his watch, thinking that he was going to have to come back two hours later but luckily he was spotted by one of the orderly's who ran over to see who he was.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes. My name is Henry Spencer. I'm here to see my son" he told him.

He gaped in surprise, "You're Henry Spencer?"

Henry nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Charlie told me you were coming. I'm David" he greeted shaking his hand. "But you know group therapy isn't for another two hours"

Henry shrugged in embarrassment. "I was nervous…. I brought a pineapple with me"

David laughed, "Yeah, he really loves pineapple"

"I know"! Henry remembered sadly.

David pretended not to notice and instead checked his watch.

"Shawn will be in meditation right now. I'll show you to Charlie's office" David suggested and Henry nodded.

Henry kept his eyes open as he followed David, keeping his eyes peeled just in case he got a glimpse of his son.

David led them to her office and he knocked before entering and Charlie looked up shocked when she noticed Henry standing there behind David.

"Henry" she said surprised.

Henry smiled weakly; it felt odd not to be in his uniform. He wasn't going to dress as a cop to visit his son. He would scare all the mental patients, maybe even his son, especially his son. Oh God. His son was a mental patient. He suddenly realised at that point that he had never actually asked what his son's diagnosis is.

"I'll leave you to it" David said awkwardly before leaving them alone.

"You're early" Charlie commented and Henry only shrugged. "And I see you have brought a pineapple" she laughed to herself, "At least you've done one thing right"

"What's his diagnosis?" Henry asked hesitantly as he was expecting the worst news.

Charlie looked at him. "He's a paranoid schizophrenic with mild sociopathic tendencies"

Henry just nodded, not really knowing what that meant.

"It means that Shawn has a hard time trusting people, technology…anything. He hallucinates too meaning his mind makes up things that aren't there. These can be things he's heard or most times in his case he sees people that don't exist."

"Like his friend Ross?" Henry interrupted.

Charlie thought for a second. "Well, I wouldn't say friend. Ross is… very pessimistic"

Henry didn't know how to respond.

"Anyway, he has mild sociopathic tendencies too meaning depending on how he is feeling at the time he can think the most disturbing things" Charlie shuddered.

Henry stared.

"But don't worry. He's on medication at the moment, although he does very well without it too." She assured him and Henry simply put the pineapple down on her desk.

"Shall I give you the tour?" she offered gesturing at the door.

"Sure" Henry smiled.

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Charlie then took him on a tour of the facilities. She pointed out the swimming pools and saunas and all of the extra activities they offered such as tennis and basketball, although she explained that Shawn had never been the energetic sporty type.

When Charlie showed him the meditation room where Shawn was Henry desperately wanted to go inside and see his son. Charlie refused saying he would see him soon and he wasn't to disturb the session. This meant that Henry resorted to peering through the glass on the door until Charlie pulled him away saying, "He'll see you, he's extremely observant"

Henry moved away from the door then and commented, "Inherited of me probably."

Charlie then escorted him back to the office and she propped the door open with a door wedge.

"Can I offer you a cuppa?" she offered.

Henry nodded, "Please" he agreed, his stomach rumbling as he realised he had missed lunch.

The, they waited for Shawn.

Henry stood up when Shawn appeared in the door way. He could have recognised his son anywhere.

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**Author note: Oooh! What a horrible cliff hanger! Aren't I evil.**

**Don't worry. this time I won't make you guys wait nearly a month before updating!**

**Please review and let me know what you thought. Does it make up for being late? Forgive me?**


	14. Reunion

**Author note: Hey guys I am back. Not that I actually went any where!**

**Enjoy this chapter! Bet you are happy I didn't leave you on a cliff hanger for too long!**

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_Previously:_

_Charlie then took him on a tour of the facilities. She pointed out the swimming pools and saunas and all of the extra activities they offered such as tennis and basketball, although she explained that Shawn had never been the energetic sporty type._

_When Charlie showed him the meditation room where Shawn was Henry desperately wanted to go inside and see his son. Charlie refused saying he would see him soon and he wasn't to disturb the session. This meant that Henry resorted to peering through the glass on the door until Charlie pulled him away saying, "He'll see you, he's extremely observant"_

_Henry moved away from the door then and commented, "Inherited of me probably."_

_Charlie then escorted him back to the office and she propped the door open with a door wedge._

_"Can I offer you a cuppa?" she offered._

_Henry nodded, "Please" he agreed, his stomach rumbling as he realised he had missed lunch._

_The, they waited for Shawn._

_Henry stood up when Shawn appeared in the door way. He could have recognised his son anywhere._

_._

_..._

_..._

_..._

* * *

Shawn peered through the door and immediately his eyes were drawn to his father who stood up upon eye contact.

"Shawn" Henry breathed before rushing over to his son and embarrassing him in a huge hug.

Shawn, who was no fan of physical contact, even with Charlie who he was comfortable with immediately started struggling and pulled away,

"Get off!" he yelled and immediately Henry withdrew and stared at his son.

Shawn was surprised to find tears in his father's eyes and he beckoned him to sit down.

"I'm so sorry! For everything!"" Henry blurted before expressing various different apologies before finally he finally slumped onto the sofa.

Shawn stood there bewildered. What was he meant to say now? He was going to come in angry but how could he when his father was a blubbering wreck?

"Why?" Shawn asked simply instead and Henry looked up at him through wet eyes.

"It wasn't my choice….Your mother …won custody and, she wanted you to come here" he managed to get out through sobs and tears.

Shawn was shocked. He had always thought that his father had abandoned him but now, as it turns out. It had been Maddy both times. Shawn then got over the original reaction by letting out a bitter laugh.

"Doesn't surprise me" Shawn commented, coming to sit next to his father on the sofa. "She always did think I was a freak"

Henry looked down sadly and wiped his eyes with a tissue. "She's a psychiatrist, she diagnoses everyone"

Shawn just stared at him and Henry caught a glance of the pineapple he had put on Charlie's desk.

"I got you a pineapple" Henry said weakly.

Shawn grinned and went over to Charlie's desk who quickly offered him the pineapple.

Henry smiled weakly from the sofa when he saw the genuine smile coming from his son. Charlie sat at her desk in the corner, seemingly forgotten.

"You know, I never thought you would actually turn up" Shawn commented.

Henry looked down ashamed.

"You read newspapers?" he asked and Shawn nodded solemnly.

"You heard of the Ying Yang killer?" he questioned again.

Shawn gave another solemn nod.

"The last guy he targeted was my best friend and he lost the game. I… was very upset"

Shawn stared at him, patiently waiting for him to continue.

"Shortly after I was offered a job in Miami and I had to take it. Everyone was just looking at me in pity and I just had to escape"

Shawn just looked at him that was no excuse.

"Why didn't you ever visit?" Shawn asked.

Henry shook his head in self-pity and looked down.

"_He's trying to say he forgot about you, preoccupied by his job I suspect" _Ross whispered in his ear, causing Shawn to jump.

"Is that right?" Shawn questioned.

Henry looked up confused and Charlie sighed, realising that Ross must be back once again.

"Were you preoccupied with your work?"

Henry didn't give a direct answer but instead murmured, "Miami has a much higher crime rate than Santa Barbra"

Silence proceeded this.

"So, are you planning to stick around?"

"Yeah" Henry whispered.

Trying to diffuse to tense atmosphere, Henry reached into his pocket and brought out a lolly pop, one of the ones Shawn had loved as a child.

"Lolly pops? Dad! I'm 24!" Shawn burst out laughing and Henry joined in.

Charlie watched the bizarre situation and noticed that even with Shawn's previous statement about his age; he still accepted the lollipop, without asking if he had poisoned it.

* * *

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Later on that week, it was time for Gus to visit and Gus put on his visitors pass and went to join Shawn in Charlie's office. They met there every week but they didn't necessary stay there. Now that Shawn was older Charlie had allowed him to go where ever he wanted with Gus, sometimes Gus stayed longer and he got to join in an art class or something which Gus actually enjoyed although he was jealous of Shawn's artistic ability. It seemed there was nothing that Shawn didn't excel at.

"Hey buddy" Shawn greeted him.

Gus smiled as he saw his best friend coming.

"How have you been?" Gus asked in concern.

"Ok" Shawn responded shrugging. "Got something to tell you though"

"What?" Gus questioned, sensing he was about to break some big news.

"My Dad turned up"

"What?" Gus questioned in shock. "What did he do? Why did he come?"

Shawn smiled, seeing his best friend panic so much.

"Well, you see the newspapers about Gary Mcgavern. I got to testify against him and I guess my dad saw the tape and came to visit. He said he's gonna visit twice a week for family therapy."

"You testified? God Shawn!" Guys blurted. "Twice a week? Did he apologise?"

"He uh…. Broke down in a blubbering wreck. He brought me a pineapple too" Shawn smiled.

Gus laughed out loud at the thought of Henry bringing pineapple. "Well I am glad he felt bad"

"Me too" Shawn thought out loud and Gus didn't look shocked. "I don't know what I would have done if he had just come back into my life and…" he broke off, thinking of what Henry could have done, but didn't.

Gus then stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I guess we'll just have to wait to see if he actually turns up for therapy then, won't we?" he asked rhetorically and Shawn nodded tapping his fingers on his leg. He was nervous already.

_Previously:_

_"Were you preoccupied with your work?"_

_Henry didn't give a direct answer but instead murmured, "Miami has a much higher crime rate than Santa Barbra"_

_Silence proceeded this. _

_"So, are you planning to stick around?"_

_"Yeah" Henry whispered. _

_Trying to diffuse to tense atmosphere, Henry reached into his pocket and brought out a lolly pop, one of the ones Shawn had loved as a child._

_"Lolly pops? Dad! I'm 24!" Shawn burst out laughing and Henry joined in._

_Charlie watched the bizarre situation and noticed that even with Shawn's previous statement about his age; he still accepted the lollypop, without asking if he had poisoned it._

When Henry returned to the station, all of the officers looked at him curiously. Henry tried to ignore the stares that were coming at him from all directions and he made his way to the Chief's office at a fast pace.

Juliet and Carlton were at their desks when they saw Henry rush to the Chief's office. Their desks were only a few metres away from her office and it was easy to tell how the whole station quietened and the sound of a man's footsteps that he was back. The most shocking thing though, was that he was smiling. Quickly, they both followed him into the Chief's office, catching the door as it swung shut, Juliet poked her head inside.

Henry smiled and invited her in and her partner immediately followed.

"What are you so happy about?" Carlton asked him. Henry smiled before turning to the Chief and sitting down in the chair opposite.

"I've just been to see my son" Henry admitted with a proud and gleeful expression on his face.

Juliet gasped and the Chief returned the smile. "How was he?" she asked.

"Well, he still loves pineapple and… he's grown up into a brilliant young man" Henry admitted, almost tearing at the thought that he didn't raise him.

"He wasn't angry?" the Chief asked shocked.

Henry paused and shook his head. "I told him the truth of what happened. He's mentally ill and I didn't want to lose his trust"

The Chief nodded in agreement.

"So what's his diagnosis?" Juliet asked with concern and Henry turned to look at her.

"I think…. I shouldn't disclose the nature of my son's condition to anyone just yet. I mean…" Henry tried to correct, seeing the hurt in Juliet's eyes, as if she thought that he thought she couldn't be trusted. "It's up to him, you know"

"Oh" Juliet said, understanding what he was getting at, but Henry took the time to explain further.

"He's doing really well according to Miss Marks, Charlie. He's on meds and he was perfectly normal when I saw him" he grinned, as if proud of his son's achievement.

"That's good" the Chief agreed. She then twisted her hands together and asked another question, "Are you going to keep this up?"

Henry smiled, "Most definitely"

* * *

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...

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...

By the end of the next week Henry had come to visit twice for family therapy and each time, they had talked a little more. When Gus visited at the end of each week, Shawn told him everything of what had happened with his father and he was very supportive of their growing relationship.

It was in a private therapy session with Charlie one night when Shawn asked the question he had asked for years.

"No that my dad is back and everything…. Does this mean I can get released?... soon?... eventually?... ever?" he finished exasperatedly.

Charlie laughed. "Well your symptoms have been a lot better over the past few years, haven't had a break down in a few years. It depends" she finished.

"On what?"

"I was going to speak to Gus anyway. See if he is willing to have a roommate, I don't want you living alone. You would have to promise to eat three meals a day, every day and take your pills"

Shawn started to smile, looking rather excited.

"It might not be permanent though" Charlie warned. "The problem we have is a rather large disruption in your routine and you have been here for so long, you would find it really hard to adapt to society"

Shawn looked down, believing he was never going to be leaving.

"I'll discuss it with my colleagues. Perhaps we'll have a trial run" she commented and Shawn offered her a weak smile.

"Ok, off you go" she waved cheekily and Shawn smiled before leaving Charlie in peace.

Shawn made his way up to see Jessica but paused at the door at the racket going on inside.

"Urgh!" Jessica yelled and Shawn's eyes widened in curiosity, what was she doing?

Shawn knocked on the door hesitantly and he heard to call from the other side. Upon hearing a loud smashing sound he entered the code on her door. The locks were an easy combination which Shawn had figured out years ago. He suspected that Charlie knew he knew, but she had never said anything.

"Jessica?" Shawn asked as he took in the view around him.

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**Author note: So Shawn finally wants out huh? And what the hell is wrong with Jessica?**

**Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Leave me a REVIEW!**


	15. Hope

**Author note: Sorry for the long wait but I hope this chapter will be worth it!**

**Leave me a comment on what you thought! Ta Da!**

* * *

The room was just like Shawn's, although very messy compared to Shawn's immaculate standards. Jessica was stood by the bed, her hair up in a ponytail and she was punching the wall with her fist. Shawn knew right then, this wasn't Jessica, this was Jess.

Shawn sighed to himself, ever since Shawn had started spending time with her alter had shown less and less when Jess had been stronger and more dominant and controlling over Jessica. She knew she was a puppet in these scenarios but she didn't seem to care that much. In a way, she loved Jess. Much like Ross had always been there for Shawn, Jess had always been there for her, always with her.

Jess didn't like Shawn. Shawn didn't like him either.

"Jess?" Shawn asked again, but this time trying to get his attention.

This time he heard and turned his head towards Shawn, immediately the mask fell away and his mask crumpled to reveal Jessica standing there with a bloody hand and a messy room.

"Shawn?" she gasped, blinking away her confusion. "Oh, Shawn!" she cried before racing over to give Shawn a hug.

Shawn didn't return the hug but he didn't fight it off either and Jessica realised this as a good thing, knowing how Shawn hated physical contact.

"It's a good thing I stopped by" Shawn commented, leaning to inspect her hand before running to her bathroom and collecting the emergency first aid kit.

"It's not his fault" Jessica murmured as Shawn opened the green box and started to wipe her wound with a wipe.

"If you're wanting to blame anyone… it would be him" Shawn smiled but stopped when Jessica flinched from a sting in her hand and she withdrew her hand quickly.

"He's just frustrated. He hadn't been allowed to play in a long time" she explained and immediately Shawn understood.

Jessica gave her hand back and Shawn wrapped it in a bandage tightly before returning the box to the bathroom.

"Thanks" she told him and he smiled back.

"Sometimes I don't think he likes me very much" she commented and Shawn looked her with a puzzled expression.

"I don't think he likes anyone" Shawn replied with a grin, "Doesn't like me too much"

Jessica's eyes rounded. "You've spoken to him?"

Shawn lowered his gaze before looking at her in the eyes. "A few times. He insults me, threatens me. He's like me in a way, sociopathic most of the time"

Jessica looked down, almost ashamed at Jess who was essentially part of herself.

There was silence for a few moments until Shawn thought about he was going to breach the next topic.

"I spoke to Charlie earlier. She said they might release me for a bit. See how well I fit in to society" Shawn said, whilst trying not to sound too excited.

Jessica smiled weakly. "It's what you always wanted"

Shawn nodded. "She has to discuss it with Mrs Jones and people but I'm hopeful" he finished.

Jessica smiled again. "I will certainly miss you if you go. Just don't forget me. One day, we'll be out of this place forever, ruling the world, you and me" she laughed.

Shawn smiled, "Yeah, destroying all the cats and mutilating rabbits!" he joked and Jessica burst into laughter.

"Well remember what happened to Mr Tiddles?" she grinned, remembering about the cat that Shawn had killed in a thrust of frustration against Ross.

"Hey!" Shawn complained with a soft punch to her shoulder. "I wasn't the one who used the electrics to explode the locking mechanism on my door" he whispered, remembering the time when Jess had put together a small explosive device in order to try and escape the room, she had actually made it out onto the lawn before the orderly's stopped her.

"Nor was I the one who used arithmetic to crack every code in this place" she finished whispered and Shawn chuckled, "In an hour" she finished and Shawn smiled again.

"Look, just let me know?" Jessica said again and Shawn instantly nodded,

"Of course" he agreed eagerly and she smiled at him.

"You better go Goose" she whispered and Shawn nodded.

"You're right. Good night" he whispered again before he crept out of the room leaving Jessica in darkness. Once Shawn was gone, Jessica clenched the covers on her bed, secretly praying that Shawn would never leave her. It wasn't long before she succumbed to unconsciousness.

Shawn closed the door behind him with a soft click.

"_Boo!" _Ross yelled and Shawn leapt back in surprise.

Shawn let out a sigh of relief as he realised it was only Ross before beginning to berate him.

"You idiot" Shawn smiled.

"_You looked like you needed it" _Ross commented, proceeding to walk next to Shawn as they made it back to his room.

_"So you might be moving out?"_

"It's not for definite but maybe"

"_But only for a week, like a trial run" _Ross reminded him, wanting to make Shawn painfully aware that he would soon return to this place.

"yeah" Shawn replied, very aware that almost every inch of this place was watched with camera and that the facial recognition technology meant that Charlie would most probably see him walking down a corridor talking to himself.

"_You're aware that Jessica's condition will decline, maybe other patients. You have been a big impact on their lives ever since you came here" _Ross reminded him and Shawn only sighed.

"Isn't it my turn to be selfish for a change?" Shawn asked rhetorically as he punched in the numbers for his own door. Then upon hearing the satisfying click he entered and shut the door behind him.

"_I still don't trust Henry" _Ross counted and Shawn smiled.

"Neither do I" he replied.

"_Firstly he's a cop. If you hadn't given that interview then he probably would have never seen you and not even come." _Ross paused dramatically. "_Do you not remember what he said when he dropped you off?"_

"He promised to visit me, then he never did." Shawn remembered and Ross only smiled at him.

_"Exactly"_

"That was years ago though. Look, I'm not saying I trust the guy just that I would be willing to tolerate him if he was and it turns out he is, my ticket out of this hell hole" Shawn snapped at him and Ross immediately shut up.

"Can you please leave? I need to get some sleep" Shawn told him and Ross hesitantly nodded.

"_I'll see you soon, Shawn" _Ross murmured before he faded into the wall.

Shawn watched with one eye. It used to intrigue him so much when a person seemingly vanished into a wall or into the air around him, just like they did in the movies. But now, it was a common occurrence that caused Shawn, not even to bat an eye lid.

* * *

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...

...

Charlie had spoken to her colleagues that evening and although hesitant at first, agreed that Shawn could be released for a week. The only agreement was that Charlie went with him. Charlie immediately accepted. It was going to be like having a week off! This meant that there was no need to call Gus as Shawn could stay with her. Charlie would have to inform his father, of course. She thought briefly about waiting for Shawn to wake the following morning and decided that would be the best option. If Shawn agreed, he could get packing while she wrung Henry to inform him.

Part of her didn't want Shawn to ever be released. She had practically raised him since he was eight and she saw herself as a substitute mother to him. Charlie loved him like a son and it was only natural that she would be a bit protective of him. Shawn had been locked in the same walls for years and Charlie really hated knowing how hard it was going to be to adapt. Shawn always wanted his little taste of freedom and although Charlie had tried to supply it by taking him on bike rides around the building, Shawn never could escape and part of him didn't want to. Shawn never did want to leave his family, Jessica, Charlie, Phoebe, Beth and the other patients. But now it was his turn to be selfish and explore and escape from his little world that he had been kept in for so many years.

Charlie sighed and stared at the phone, then the clock that glowed on her desk. She really hoped that Shawn would cope; after all, living in a small bubble for so long would mean that Shawn had no idea how to live in the real world.

* * *

**Author note: Yes, it's quite a short chapter... but who's excited? Shawn's being released for a week! Woop Woop!**


	16. The first Step

**Author note: So yeah, short chapter before I go on holiday! Can't wait for the sun!**

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The next morning, Charlie found Shawn downstairs eating breakfast. This surprised Charlie as she knew how easy Shawn found it to accidently forget to eat, and then using the common excuse, "I wasn't hungry". Charlie always made sure he had his three meals a day. She decided to join him for breakfast and so fixed herself something in the kitchens and sat down beside him.

"Hey" Shawn greeted with a small smile.

Charlie replied by greeting him with a smile. "I talked it over with my colleagues last night" she stated.

Shawn immediately looked up from his food and slowed his chewing pace down considerately, waiting for Charlie to continue, Shawn made sure she had his full attention and he tried to read her facial expression.

"If you want…..you and I can leave" she told him slowly. A smile creeping on to her face.

Shawn started grinning.

"Only for the week, mind" she hurried to add. But that didn't stop Shawn's grin.

Charlie gave a small laugh back. "I'll have to ring your dad so he can take some time off. We'll meet him at lunch and we'll find somewhere to stay this morning"

"We'll leave today? For the week?" Shawn confirmed and Charlie nodded her head.

Shawn was stunned into silence for several moments. His greatest wish was going to come true for a week, and a week was better than no time at all. Shawn was excited. He immediately started thinking of what he was going to take with him and places he could go and where he could visit.

"I'll leave you to pack after breakfast while I ring your dad. Then I will go pack and I will meet you in my office in an hour?" she asked, to see if that was enough time for him to pack his belongings.

Shawn smiled. The quicker the better in his opinion, he was going to make the most of the week he had been given.

"Ok" Shawn agreed as he got up to leave but Charlie gave him a stern look.

"Finish your food first" she tutted before standing up herself holding an empty bowl that once contained cereal before remarking, "You're such a slow eater" and walking to put her bowl away.

Shawn watched her leave then drew his attention back to his food and sighed before lifting another mouthful into his mouth and another…. And another.

Within a few moments he was done and an orderly nearby offered to take his plate. They often did that for him, little chores that he could have done himself. Charlie insisted that Shawn was never to become too dependent on the orderlies. Although it was their job to pick up after the patients Charlie didn't want Shawn getting lazy. Though Shawn wasn't ever going to deny that when Charlie wasn't there, he allowed them to take his plates and hang up his towels. When Shawn was younger he went through a rebellious stage of leaving things everywhere. Charlie was almost glad when he developed the OCDness to keep his room tidy. Shawn thought that Charlie seemed to think that the orderlies were like servants and he knew Gus thought that too but Shawn knew differently. Shawn talked to them and found them very interesting people, well some of them anyway. Shawn wasn't interested in the orderlies that had a weak personality, the people who just did as they were told all of the time. Shawn respected the rules enough but by rules, the orderlies weren't really meant to talk to the patients without permission of their carer. Shawn never did like that he couldn't talk to someone without Charlie's say so, so Shawn did it anyway. And although Shawn didn't like to lie, he became very good at twisting around the truth and withholding information.

Shawn gave the orderly the plate with a smile and said "Thank you" to her as she walked away. He then made his way to his room in a normal pace. He had a whole hour; there was no need to hurry. Part of Shawn wanted to be running the whole way there but the other part of him just wanted to freeze in his tracks and convince himself that he couldn't do this, leave his comfort zone. This was an adventure, a change in his routine, he couldn't do this. But that never stopped his feet from moving onwards.

* * *

.

.

.

.

Charlie left Shawn and immediately went to her office to phone Henry. Glancing at the clock, she assumed that he would already be at the station and so entered the number. She was waiting several moments as she asked for Henry Spencer and they connected the line to his office phone.

"_Detective Henry Spencer speaking"_

_"Mr Spencer. It's Miss Marks from West Haven"_

_"Miss Marks? I… Has something happened? Is Shawn ok?"_

_"Shawn in fine, Mr Spencer."_

_"Thank God"_

_"I have wrung to tell you that my colleagues and I have decided to release Shawn for the week"_

_"What?"_

_"He is to be accompanied by me or another responsible adult like yourself at all times"_

_"Really? For the whole week?"_

_"It's a trial run really, to see if he can adapt to society again. Would it be Ok if we stopped off at the station around noon?"_

_"Er. Yes, that's fine. Wait… today?"_

_"Yes Mr Spencer."_

_"I will see you both soon then!"_

_"See you then Mr Spencer" _Charlie said before she hung up with a huge grin on her face. She couldn't believe that conversation. The sheer tone of disbelief and shock from Henry was incredible. Henry got more excited as the conversation went on and Charlie could have laughed at his awkwardness as he tried to contain his excitement. She could almost hear him knocking over things on the other end as his arm slipped in order to retain grip on the phone. Before leaving her office she made a note of the time, she only had half an hour to pack. She sighed knowing that it would be difficult for her to pack an entire week's worth of clothes in 30 minutes but knew that Shawn would be ready on the dot or even early. Realising this she walked briskly to her living quarters and began packing with a sense of urgency.

Finally when she had collected up her clothing and other necessities like tooth brushes, a spare IPOD for Shawn and a bunch of crossword and Sudoku puzzles, she made her way to the front entrance and asked an orderly to guard it. She didn't exactly want to have to drag her suitcase to her office only to come back on herself. When she arrived at her office, Shawn was standing there with his suitcase and Mrs Jones was wishing him luck and giving him words of advice.

"Stay close to Charlie. And if at any time you want to come back, you're very welcome. But anyways…" she trailed off seeing Charlie standing at the entrance with a small smile on her face at the pep talk. Charlie should have known that she would want to see Shawn off. After all, she was the one that brought Shawn here and she didn't think that Shawn would actually say goodbye to anyone.

"I'll see you in a week then. Behave" she warned.

"I will Mrs Jones" Shawn reassured her as he grabbed the handle of the suitcase and followed Charlie to the front entrance where she thanked the orderly and regained her suitcase.

"You ready?" she asked Shawn who was staring at the doors that would rid him of the palce behind him.

Shawn didn't smile. But he nodded and walked through the doors, feeling for a rare moment that little taste of freedom.

Mrs Jones had obviously ordered them a taxi which Shawn guessed they would be relying on for the next week. Shawn didn't know how to drive and Charlie lived at the centre in the staff quarters and so had no reason to need to go outside. Charlie often went home for the weekends though; special staff came in for the weekend to run extra activities so a few staff members were never missed.

Shawn had to help Charlie lift her luggage into the boot of the car and they both got in the back seats and as the car began following the drive away from the main building Shawn opened the window and began waving at Bethany who had stuck her head out one of the windows and was waving madly at Shawn's departure.

Charlie looked to see where he was waving and couldn't see anyone immediately. Deciding it hurt her neck at that angle she only hoped there was someone there. After all, it wouldn't be good to start the week off with a hallucination.

* * *

**Author note: So he is officially out of West Haven, for a week. How exciting!**

**Hope you guys enjoyed!**

**Please ****review**** and let me know what you guys thought. I love hearing your opinions and even appreciate the ones that say "Please update soon"**

**Sorry for any spelling mistakes. I had a huge think about the word, "Wrung". Is that like "I wrung clothes on the washing line" or "rung clothes on the washing line" or "I rung Henry" or would it be "I rang Henry"? I got confused and put wrung! Sorry if that's wrong!**


	17. Sleeping arrangements

**Author note: So yeah. back from my holiday. But off to UNI later today too, so not sure how much time i will have for writing but I promise not to abandon this and try my best with as many updates as I can!**

**You guys remember the last chapter? Go back and re read if you want. Review!**

* * *

Charlie sighed sinking into the seat and looked over at Shawn who had now stopped waving and checking his seatbelt was secure… again.

"Can we go see Gus first? I want to surprise him" Shawn asked and Charlie smiled.

"Sure" Charlie responded thinking that this was a great idea. She quickly gave the address to the driver who nodded understanding his destination. Seeing Gus was definitely a good thing in Charlie's books, she only hoped that she wouldn't interfere too much. She didn't want Shawn to feel like he was being baby sat which technically was what she was meant to do for the whole week.

It wasn't a long drive to the building where Gus worked. They knew he would be in his office and Charlie instructed for the taxi to wait there. Charlie wasn't going to pay just yet, otherwise she would have to drag her bags up the stairs and back down again only to ring another taxi in order to get to a hotel.

Shawn slammed the door shut and approached the large building. Shawn hadn't seen anything like it… ever. It had walls made out of glass and fancy looking desks and shiny polished floors.

Charlie watched Shawn with curiosity as he learnt how buildings had changed. He hadn't been in the outside world for years. It would be interesting for him to see what had changed.

Shawn stood there for several moments and only moved when Charlie walked past him and made her way to the reception desk. Shawn had never been in this situation before and so didn't know where to go and so followed Charlie obediently. He had no idea where Gus' office would be.

"Hi, Could you direct me to the office of Mr Guster?" Charlie asked the male employee at the desk.

He didn't smile but typed into the computer for several seconds and said,

"Room 302. 3rd floor. Take the lift and the end of the hall and it's on your left."

"Thank you" Charlie responded, looking at Shawn who obviously thought his tone was rather rude as well.

They walked down the end of the hall to the lift and Charlie pressed the button. The doors slide open but Shawn didn't move. He just stared at the bizarre contraption and the rust forming on the frame.

Charlie noticed the expression. Eager to avoid a meltdown in a public place she suggested the stairs rather quickly.

Shawn just nodded and followed Charlie up the stairs. Since it was only the third floor, they didn't get too worn out and Shawn walked faster and faster as he passed doors with a numerical count down to his friend's office.

Shawn stopped outside door 302 but didn't wait. The door was see-through and he could see his friend typing away at his computer, actually, it looked as if he was playing video games. Shawn smiled to himself before knocking, then entering immediately.

Gus looked up before staring at his best friend in shock.

He was speechless.

Charlie tried to stop herself from laughing; she managed it but only with a considerable amount of effort.

"Shawn? What are you doing here?" he asked, still staring at him. His fingers hovering above the key board and the flashing screen reflected on his shirt made Shawn aware that he had just lost.

"I'm on trial" Shawn responded with a grin.

"In court? For murder? You haven't killed anyone have you?" he asked as he started panicking.

Shawn burst into laughter but was quick to reassure him, "No. On a trial run. I've been released for the week. They might consider permanently if I can adapt to society again"

The relief in Gus' eyes now he knew that his best friend hadn't accidently killed someone was obvious, but he still remained staring in a way of disbelief. He couldn't believe that his best friend was standing before him. In all the years he had known him, since being admitted, he had never been outside. Gus looked at Charlie for confirmation and she nodded smiling.

"I'm taking the week off" Gus announced standing up.

Charlie gasped in shock and Shawn simply raised his eyebrows.

"Good!" Shawn nodded and when Gus looked at him Shawn smiled, "Well, they are not paying you to play video games, are they?" he asked rhetorically.

"How did you-" Gus started and Shawn raised an eyebrow believing the answer to be obvious.

"Your key board" Shawn explained simply.

Gus' face remained confused and Charlie looked at him strangely.

"Shawn?" she asked.

Immediately Shawn realised what he had said and explained, "Left hand space bar, right hand arrow keys… I'm not hearing voices Charlie"

Charlie looked affronted, "I never said you were"

"You were thinking it" Shawn mumbled.

"You always were observant" Gus remembered, "You can freak people out by doing it to your dad!"

Shawn's face sobered. "Maybe"

Silence.

"Would you like to join us at the station? We have a taxi waiting. We just need to stop off at a hotel first" Charlie explained, deciding to fill the silence.

"Sure. I'll just tell my Boss. But don't bother about getting a hotel. You guys can stay with me at my place, I got plenty of room" Gus assured them and Charlie looked shocked.

"Cool! Sleepover!" Shawn grinned, something they never got to do when they were kids.

"Are you sure?" Charlie clarified.

"Absolutely! If we've only got the week, I'm not gonna waste it"

Shawn grinned and looked over at Charlie with a face that quite clearly said, "You've got no choice. We're going".

Gus grabbed his coat and keys before he rushed out of the room and knocked on the door that was more or less opposite then ran in to inform his Boss. Apparently he had no problem with it as Gus reappeared only seconds later.

Shawn did raise his eyebrows at this but Gus only waved him off and proceeded to follow the corridor which Charlie and Shawn had just walked down moments before.

Gus pressed the button on the lift but they ended up not waiting for it as Shawn scoffed and said, "No way" before proceeding to take the stairs. Gus didn't even sigh but looked longingly as the doors open and he walked away only to physically exert himself with the stairs. Gus and Charlie shared a glance at not wanting to use the lift but not a single word was spoken about it.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Gus took out his keys and told them, "I have to drive back anyway as I can't leave my car here. Why don't you order the taxi to follow me?"

Charlie frowned but Shawn nodded eagerly.

"It's easy enough. His car is bright blue" Shawn explained and Charlie smiled in agreement.

"Ok. Lead the way" Charlie told him and Gus nodded.

They reached the exit of the building and Charlie thanked the driver for waiting. They had only been inside ten minutes or so, so it wasn't that long of a wait for him.

She instructed the driver to follow Gus' car. Shawn was right, it was easy to spot. All the other cars parked around were dull greys and blacks and true to his word, his car was bright blue.

It was a really short drive again to his apartment, well it was a block of apartments and Charlie was instantly worried that it was going to be high up and then they would be forced to take the stairs… she needn't have worried.

Charlie paid the taxi man as Shawn started to get the bags from the boot of the vehicle. Gus had parked round the back of the building in the car park specifically for the inhabitants of the building but the taxi driver just pulled up outside the entrance. Gus came walking round just in time for him to help Shawn with the other suitcase and he pulled the boot close when he was sure there was nothing in there.

Moments later, he drove away. Charlie grabbed her suitcase and Shawn carried his and they both followed as Gus led the way to the entrance.

Sure enough they reached the same dilemma with the lift in front of them with the stair case next to them.

"You sure you don't wanna take the lift?" Charlie asked, knowing that they would have to trudge the bags up the stairs.

Shawn gave a meaningful look to the lift but quickly nodded in fear.

"It's ok. My apartment is on the second floor" Gus reassured her.

Charlie sighed in relief, as did Shawn. Shawn didn't want to admit it but he hated the idea of the lift. They didn't look safe. They were abnormal. Stairs were a healthy way of keeping fit. He would rather take the stairs any day than place himself in a steel box that would close around him and might even drop him! He certainly wasn't going in one that wasn't well looked after that had rust on it.

No one complained as they hauled the suitcases up the stairs. Gus had to pause and held Charlie nearer the end but Shawn was more than capable or carrying up the stairs without exerting himself. He went cycling, running and swimming every week as part of his routine. Shawn could tell that Gus was struggling on the last bit but he didn't complain which Shawn was thankful for, he didn't want to have to explain his fear of lifts to them both, they would probably think it was irrational.

Charlie was keeping a very close eye on Shawn and he tried to ignore it. He knew that she was only doing her job and was concerned about him but he couldn't help but feel a little on edge as she stares pierced him.

Gus put Charlie's bag down as he got out the keys to his apartment; he then proceeded to open the door and allowed Shawn and Charlie to enter first.

Shawn gaped slightly. To think his best friend was a pharmaceutical sales representive he certainly looked quite wealthy if his place was anything to go by.

Gus closed the door behind them and gestures to his surroundings.

"This is the lounge and… the kitchen just there" he said pointing off to the corner. The kitchen was joined on to the lounge with a small breakfast bar to separate the two miniature rooms. He would probably have to get some more food in later now he had guests.

"My room is this one" Gus told them leading them through to a room which was as Shawn suspected, very tidy which he liked.

"I'll go on the sofa and Shawn, you can have the bed" Gus stated before moving to show them the other room. Shawn didn't have a chance to complain about using up the bed, he was quite happy to bunk on the sofa for the week. But a voice in his head told him that Gus wouldn't allow him to sleep on the sofa all week, after all he was his guest.

"This is my spare room where you can stay Charlie" Gus finished.

"It's lovely" Charlie stated hauling her suitcase through the door before turning round to look at Gus.

"Are you sure about this? We can still get a hotel?" she suggested but Gus cut her off.

"There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind" Gus told her firmly and she smiled before checking her watch.

"Shall we unpack?" Shawn suggested with a grin, showing that he had no problems with this arrangement and Gus smiled at him before nodding.

"The bathroom is just through there. I'm gonna get a shower while you guys unpack. Help yourself to spare draws" Gus told them before he left to have a shower.

Shawn and Charlie shared a glance that quickly turned into a smile from Charlie and an excited grin from Shawn.

"Go on then!" Charlie shooed him and Shawn walked away with a laugh to the other room where he had left his suitcase and started to unpack.

By the time Gus had finished in the shower, he came out to find Charlie and Shawn still in the different bedrooms unpacking. Gus had covered himself with a towel and hesitantly entered his bedroom where Shawn was still there unpacking his belongings into a few of the spare draws and made a small pile of clothes next to the bed.

"Sorry" Gus excused himself as Shawn turned to notice him with a small smile, trying to ignore the fact he was shirtless which made him feel a little uncomfortable. This was not how he imagined a sleepover when he was a kid. Gus quickly pulled on a t-shirt and the rest of his clothing before putting his socks and shoes on again.

"So what are we gonna do this week?" Gus asked with excitement.

Shawn shrugged in response, "Not sure, but I definitely want to make the most of it"

Gus nodded in agreement. In that moment, Charlie came bounding into the room after having unpacked most of her belongings to see the progress Shawn was making.

"You guys nearly ready?" she asked, scanning the room, "I said we'd meet up with Henry at the station"

Gus suddenly realised that this week was meant to be family bonding time and felt a little guilty. Perhaps he should just leave Shawn to be with his father for the week, perhaps he should go back to work. At least then he could see Shawn every evening. Shawn studied his friends face and instantly realised what must be going through his head

"Dude, you're family too" Shawn reassured him and Charlie watched the interaction confused. She knew Gus hadn't said anything, but was this Shawn responding to his facial expression? Or was there something deeper going on? Maybe Shawn was psychic? She thought with amusement.

Gus turned to look at Shawn then he smiled, "You're gift is creepy sometimes, you know that?"

Shawn frowned, "My gift? I just read your facial expression. You obviously felt guilty about wanting to spend time with me, thinking it was meant to be family time but, you're family too" he explained.

Gus smiled, happy to be included and Charlie watched with admiration. Coming and staying with Gus was definitely the better option than staying in a hotel. Shawn would definitely be happier here.

Gus paused before grabbing his keys, "Shall we go?" he announced.

Shawn grinned and nodded and Charlie smiled from the doorway.

Walking downstairs to the car, they immediately walked past the lift not wanting to upset Shawn. He seemed to appreciate it, whether he said so or not. Charlie watched as Shawn looked a little apprehensive at the bright blue car but as Charlie walked round to get in the front he called "SHOT GUN" before running round the back and beating her into the front seat. Charlie gave a disbelieving look to Gus and they both grinned at each other

"Don't look at me, you're not driving" he joked and Charlie laughed before proceeding to get in the back seat.

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**Author note: Next chapter they meet up with Henry at the station.**


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